Podcasts about Summer Triangle

Late-October evenings are great for skywatching. The nights are fairly long and cool. And there’s a lot to see. The Summer Triangle is still high in the west, and Taurus is climbing into view in the east. And this year, three planets are visible before midnight: Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter. One thing that’s not visible for the next few evenings is the Moon. It doesn’t rise until the wee hours of the morning. So if you can get away from city lights, you should be treated to a beautiful view of the stars. Dark skies are especially important for astronomers, allowing them to see deeper into the universe. But other things can limit the view. That includes clouds – not just on Earth, but in the stars. Dust is sprinkled between the stars. And the farther you look, the more dust gets in the way. That obscuring effect is known as extinction. Astronomers have to account for it when they measure an object’s brightness, its color, and more. In some cases, they’re looking through a fairly uniform scattering of dust. But in others, they’re looking through dense clouds, which make it really tough to see what’s beyond. Another concern is called seeing – the stability of the atmosphere. If the air is calm, the seeing is pretty good. But if it’s turbulent, it smears the view of the stars. Bad seeing makes the stars twinkle more fiercely. That’s a beautiful effect for casual skywatchers, but bad for astronomers. Script by Damond Benningfield

Each season has a notable constellation or group of stars that can serve as a guidepost to that part of the sky. In summer it's common to use the Summer Triangle and in autumn we have the Great Square of Pegasus.

In many ways, fall has already arrived. The fall term has started for schools. Football season is underway. And September 1st marks the beginning of the fall weather season. Astronomical fall catches up to them tomorrow. Autumn officially arrives at 7:44 a.m. Central Daylight Time – the moment of the fall equinox. The change in seasons occurs as the Sun crosses the equator from north to south. The Sun rises due east and sets due west as seen from the entire planet. And the length of day and night are about equal. That balance won’t last long. In the northern hemisphere, the days will grow shorter and the nights longer until we reach the winter solstice, in December. As that happens, the sunrise and sunset points will slide southward. As the season changes, so do the stars. At nightfall, Arcturus, the brightest star of summer nights, is dropping lower in the west. The signature star pattern of the season, the Summer Triangle, is moving to the western side of the sky. And the scorpion is getting ready to disappear in the southwest. In the meantime, the Great Square of Pegasus is in the east at nightfall, ready to climb high across the sky during the night. Constellations associated with the flying horse are moving into view as well. And so are the constellations of the Celestial Sea – water-related constellations like the fish, the sea goat, and the water boy – stellar sights for the longer nights of autumn. Script by Damond Benningfield

The stars of the Summer Triangle look a lot alike. Vega, Deneb, and Altair are among the 20 brightest stars in the night sky, and they all shine almost pure white. Vega and Altair really are alike. But except for the way it looks to our eyes, Deneb is nothing like the other two. The triangle is high in the eastern sky at nightfall. It’s easy to see even through the glare of the almost-full Moon. Vega is the highest and brightest of the three stars. Deneb stands to the lower left of Vega, with Altair farther to the lower right. Vega and Altair are both about twice the size and mass of the Sun, and a good bit brighter. And both of them spin rapidly – so fast that they bulge outward at the equator. Vega is farther along in its evolution than Altair is. Because of their mass, both stars will spend about a billion years in the “prime” phase of life. That’s compared to about 10 billion years for the Sun. Deneb is a supergiant – one of the bigger and heavier stars in the galaxy. Some of its details are unclear because its distance is uncertain. It could be about 1500 light-years away, or about 2600. Either way, we know that it’s about 20 times the mass of the Sun, and up to 200 thousand times the Sun’s brightness. It’s no more than 10 million years old, with almost no time left. Before long, it’ll explode as a supernova, then fade away – and the Summer Triangle will disappear. Script by Damond Benningfield

After dusk, look about a third of the way up the eastern sky for Altair, the brightest star in Aquila the Eagle and part of the Summer Triangle.

Producer/Host: R.W. Estela Hi, I'm RW Estela: Since 1991, I've been presenting A Word in Edgewise, WERU's longest-running short feature, a veritable almanac of worldly and heavenly happenings, a confluence of 21st-century life in its myriad manifestations, international and domestic, cosmopolitan and rural, often revealing, as the French say, the more things change, the more they stay the same — though not always! Sometimes in addressing issues affecting our day-to-day lives, in this age of vagary and ambiguity, when chronological time is punctuated elliptically, things can quickly turn edgy and controversial, as we search for understanding amid our dialectic. Tune in Monday mornings at 7:30 a.m. for an exciting journey through space and time with a few notable birthdays thrown in for good measure during A Word in Edgewise . . . About the host: RW Estela was raised as a first-generation American in Colorado by a German mother and a Corsican-Basque father who would become a three-war veteran for the US Army, so RW was naturally a military brat and later engaged in various Vietnam-era civil-service adventures before paying his way through college by skiing for the University of Colorado, playing Boulder coffeehouses, and teaching. He has climbed all of Colorado's Fourteeners; found work as an FAA-certificated commercial pilot, a California-licensed building contractor, a publishing editor, a practitioner of Aikido, and a college professor of English; among his many interdisciplinary pursuits are the design and building of Terrell Residence Library (recently renamed the Terrell House Permaculture Living & Learning Center at the University of Maine), writing Building It In Two Languages (a bilingual dictionary of construction terminology), aerial photo documentation of two dam removals (Great Works and Veazie) on the Penobscot River, and once a week since 1991 drafting an installment of A Word In Edgewise, his essay series addressing issues affecting our day-to-day lives — and WERU's oldest continuous short feature. When pandemics do not interfere, he does the Triple Crown of Maine open-water ocean swims (Peaks to Portland, Islesboro Crossing, and Nubble Light Challenge) and the Whitewater Downriver Point Series of the Maine Canoe and Kayak Racing Organization. RW is the father of two and the grandfather of three and lives with his partner Kathleen of 37 years and their two Maine Coons in Orono. The post A Word in Edgewise 7/22/24: Of a Green July, the Summer Triangle, & Bob Dole . . . first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

As we head through the middle part of the year, Ian Brannan and Director of Astronomy Dan Pye look at the Summer Triangle, a collection of constellation which take centre stage in the night sky at this time of year. We also discuss the discovery of frost on Mars, which has been found at the top of the biggest mountain in the Solar System Olympus Mons, which is 3x bigger than Mount Everest! And we look ahead to a potential comet with could be visible this autumn! For more news and info visit kielderobservatory.orgSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Naija Bruckner an NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates fellow at the Maria Mitchell Association discusses The Summer Triangle. The Summer Triangle consists of three bright stars that are prominent in the summer night sky and can help to locate the band of our Milky Way Galaxy.

Now that summer has arrived, the famous “Summer Triangle” of stars has returned to guide us around the evening sky.

This week is a great opportunity to spot Lacus Mortis, the Lake of Death, on the lunar surface. Find out how you can see this for yourself as well as our usual stargazing highlights in this week's podcast guide, Star Diary, 10 to 16 June 2024.   Transcript: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/podcasts/star-diary-10-jun-2024   Patrick Moore on the Summer Triangle: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/summer-triangle   Subscribe to BBC Sky at Night Magazine and submit your astrophotography images over on our website: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you're ready for a taste of summer, look no farther than the dawn sky. The constellations in view at first light are just what you'll see as night falls in July and August. Scorpius is low in the south, with Sagittarius in the southeast. The Big Dipper hangs from its handle in the northwest. And the Summer Triangle — the stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair — stands high in the east. As Earth orbits the Sun, our viewing angle on the stars changes. As a result, each star rises about four minutes earlier each night. So a star that rises at dawn now, will rise eight hours earlier in July, 10 hours earlier in August, and 12 hours earlier in September. Now you might think this all means that we'd see the current morning configuration 12 hours earlier in the night during September — half a year from now. And you'd be partially right. The same configuration of stars will be in the sky at that hour. But the Sun sets later then, so it's still daylight when the stars stand in their current dawn positions. So by sunset then, Scorpius and the others will have rotated farther to the west. That means the best time to see this setup in the early evening sky is a month or two earlier — July and August. That all sounds a bit confusing, but trust us: The stars have been following that pattern for a long time — moving the same stars we see in the dawn sky now into the evening sky during the short nights of summer. Script by Damond Benningfield

January 9, 2024: Before sunrise spot Mercury, Moon, and Venus in the southeastern sky.  The Summer Triangle is in the east-northeast. See the accompanying article - 2024, January 9: Spot Mercury, Moon and Venus before Sunup --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeffrey-l-hunt/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeffrey-l-hunt/support

What's in the Night Sky for October presented by Paul Evans and Sinéad Mannion. Highlights for October include highly active Solar Cycle 25, ISS morning object from 21st October, more Summer Triangle, Orion is rising, a harbinger of winter, but a welcome one for us astronomers! Watch out for the Draconid Meteor Shower on the 8th and 9th. Also on the 21st and 22nd, the Orionids are visible, they are the dust from the comet trail of Halley's Comet. Finally, new moon is on the 14th and the 1st quarter is on the 22nd...Keep looking up... Websites for aurora spotting - IAA's irishastro.org, Nasa's spaceweather.com, and Aurora UK Facebook group.Paul's photography website - pgephotos.co.uk

The Summer Triangle is a useful guidepost to many interesting deep sky objects, but it's also a way to find other constellations nearby, such as Delphinus the Dolphin.

If you can escape the glow of city lights, this is a great evening to watch the Milky Way. It forms a hazy band of light that stretches high across the sky. It arcs from Scorpius and Sagittarius in the south; through the Summer Triangle, high overhead; then down to W-shaped Cassiopeia, in the northeast. That band of light is the glow of millions of stars in the disk of the Milky Way Galaxy. If we could view the galaxy from afar, we'd see several bright, beautiful spiral arms wrapping through the disk. The arms aren't permanent structures. Stars that are closer to the center of the galaxy take less time to complete an orbit than stars that are farther out. So if an arm was a permanent structure, it would either rip itself apart or wrap tighter and tighter around the galaxy's core. Instead, each arm may represent the crest of a wave. The wave circles around the galaxy like a wave of water on the ocean. In a galaxy, the wave squeezes giant clouds of gas and dust ahead of it. The clouds then give birth to new stars. Many of the stars are big, heavy, and bright, so they help outline the spiral arms. A wave also carries along lots of smaller stars, enhancing the spiral arm even more. As the wave moves along, it compresses a new region of the galaxy. The stars in its wake spread out, and the brightest of them quickly expire. But new stars take their place — riding a wave through our beautiful galactic home.|  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

Join Fiona Powers Ozyurt of the Maria Mitchell Association as she discusses the Summer Triangle. To find the Summer Triangle, head outside after 9pm, look directly overhead and locate the bright star Vega in the constellation Lyra. Neighboring Vega are two other bright stars, Deneb in Cygnus and Altair in Aquila, which together with Vega form a large triangle. This is the Summer Triangle asterism. 

Astronomer Howard Parkin explains what we should be looking for in our August dark skies - including the Summer Triangle, a full Blue Super Moon (that might actually be red!), the appearance of Jupiter and the possibility of a dramatic Perseid Meteor Shower. The music break is Good Morning, Starshine by Oliver and after that, Howard brings us up to date with some of the top stories about the race into space. Howard welcomes questions, and suggestions for stargazing or space-related topics for future programmes - email howardparkin@manx,net

After going over the definitions of a constellation and an asterism, some sky events, and some news items, we will discuss a few of the differences between official constellations and helpful asterisms. Tim and Terry discuss just what the Big and Little Dippers are, as well as the Summer Triangle and how they fit into the night sky picture, as well as some other popular star patterns.

As evening twilight fades into night, look for three bright stars high in the east that form a giant triangle in the sky. The Summer Triangle is a great way to “star hop” to areas of interest.

Producer/Host: R.W. Estela Hi, I'm RW Estela: Since 1991, I've been presenting A Word in Edgewise, WERU's longest-running short feature, a veritable almanac of worldly and heavenly happenings, a confluence of 21st-century life in its myriad manifestations, international and domestic, cosmopolitan and rural, often revealing, as the French say, the more things change, the more they stay the same — though not always! Sometimes in addressing issues affecting our day-to-day lives, in this age of vagary and ambiguity, when chronological time is punctuated elliptically, things can quickly turn edgy and controversial, as we search for understanding amid our dialectic. Tune in Monday mornings at 7:30 a.m. for an exciting journey through space and time with a few notable birthdays thrown in for good measure during A Word in Edgewise . . . About the host: RW Estela was raised as a first-generation American in Colorado by a German mother and a Corsican-Basque father who would become a three-war veteran for the US Army, so RW was naturally a military brat and later engaged in various Vietnam-era civil-service adventures before paying his way through college by skiing for the University of Colorado, playing Boulder coffeehouses, and teaching. He has climbed all of Colorado's Fourteeners; found work as an FAA-certificated commercial pilot, a California-licensed building contractor, a publishing editor, a practitioner of Aikido, and a college professor of English; among his many interdisciplinary pursuits are the design and building of Terrell Residence Library (recently renamed the Terrell House Permaculture Living & Learning Center at the University of Maine), writing Building It In Two Languages (a bilingual dictionary of construction terminology), aerial photo documentation of two dam removals (Great Works and Veazie) on the Penobscot River, and once a week since 1991 drafting an installment of A Word In Edgewise, his essay series addressing issues affecting our day-to-day lives — and WERU's oldest continuous short feature. When pandemics do not interfere, he does the Triple Crown of Maine open-water ocean swims (Peaks to Portland, Islesboro Crossing, and Nubble Light Challenge) and the Whitewater Downriver Point Series of the Maine Canoe and Kayak Racing Organization. RW is the father of two and the grandfather of three and lives with his partner Kathleen of 37 years and their two Maine Coons in Orono. The post A Word in Edgewise 7/10/23: The Summer Triangle, an Idling Car, and Arthur Ashe . . . first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Aquila, the eagle, spreads its wings across the evening sky. It's well up in the east as the sky gets dark. Its brightest star, Altair, is at the bottom right point of the wide-spread Summer Triangle. Altair represents the eagle's breast, with the wings above and below. A pair of stars at one of the wingtips faces an uncertain future. Early studies said the two stars will ram together and explode as a supernova -- in 700 million years. But more recent work says they won't. Henize 2-428 consists of two white dwarfs -- the dead cores of once-normal stars. They probably started out as fairly massive stars. As the main star aged, it dumped most of its gas onto its companion. As that star aged, it began dumping gas as well, forming a cloud around both stars. The gas was kicked out into space, forming a colorful nebula around the pair. Today, the stars are so close that they orbit each other once every four hours. As they orbit, they radiate gravitational waves, causing them to spiral even closer -- and eventually merge. The early work said the combined mass of the two stars would exceed the weight limit for white dwarfs. As a result, they'd blast themselves to bits as a supernova. But the more recent work said the stars are less massive than originally thought. If that's true, then their merger will be much less spectacular. Henize 2-428 will survive -- as a heavy stellar “corpse” floating through the galaxy unnoticed.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

Lots of things to talk about this week: Mercury becomes an evening object. Mars is close to Regulus. Venus turns around. Spectroscopic binaries. The moon passes Saturn and Jupiter. Solstice on Mars. The summer triangle. Star-crossed lovers.

Welcome to 'Shine Sky Watch', a monthly summary of night sky events for stargazers in and around Petersfield. July; and it's holiday season in the 'Petersphere'! People are heading to the beaches, either here in the UK or overseas. Did you know there's an astronomical link to the tides? With July's Full Moon occurring on the 3rd, this is the first in a sequence of four 'Supermoons' and during the Summer season you can't miss the prominent asterism called the Summer Triangle, with Vega being one of the brightest stars in the whole sky. Find out more and make the most of our unique dark skies with Shine Radio written by Petersphere resident and astronomical expert Geoff Burt.  Listen to Sky Watch every month for magical star-gazing on your doorstep. Clear skies and happy stargazing!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Sun is pretty big as stars go — bigger than perhaps 80 or 90 percent of the stars in the entire Milky Way Galaxy. To get an idea of just how big, consider this: At the speed of a jet airliner, it would take about seven months to circle all the way around the Sun's equator. But if you really want to rack up the frequent-flier miles, try circling around the star at the tail of Cygnus, the swan. Deneb is a white supergiant. The “white” designation means that its surface is thousands of degrees hotter than the Sun's. And the “supergiant” designation means that it's one of the biggest stars in the galaxy. In fact, it could be 200 times the diameter of the Sun. So even at the pace of a typical airliner, it would take more than a century to circle Deneb's equator. One problem you might have is deciding just where the star's “surface” is. Supergiants are so puffed up that their outermost layers of gas are quite thin. And Deneb is blowing a powerful “wind” of material out into space, which makes it even harder to tell where the star ends and space begins. But from our distance of 2600 light-years or so, that's not a problem — Deneb looks like a sharp little point of light. It's in the northeast at nightfall, at the left point of the bright Summer Triangle. And the rest of the swan stretches to its right, with the body roughly parallel to the horizon and the wings spread above and below. Tomorrow: An ancient stellar family.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

Join Fiona Powers Ozyurt of the Maria Mitchell Association as she discusses the constellation Aquila. To find Aquila, head outside after 10pm and look in the East direction. Now locate the bright star Vega in the constellation Lyra. Neighboring Vega are two other bright stars, Deneb in Cygnus and Altair in Aquila, which together with Vega form a large triangle. This is the Summer Triangle asterism. 

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 northern crown Corona Borealis, which looks more like a small bowl or a “C” in the sky. Continue a little further to the left and you'll find the keystone asterism which is part of the constellation Hercules. Extra Challenge! Look for M13, the Hercules Cluster in between two of Hercules' “keystone” stars.  It known as the best globular cluster in the northern skies.  It will be a fuzzy spot in binoculars and will be even cooler through a telescope Summer Constellations: Lyra, Cygnus, Aquila – Look pretty much straight above you, and find the brightest star up there. You'll notice a parallelogram attached to it. This is the brightest star Vega, part of the constellation Lyra, the harp. Directly above you will be Cygnus the Swan, with its brightest star Deneb. It will look like a large cross, or if you look out a little further, a swan flying above you. Below Cygnus and Lyra is the third constellation of the Summer Triangle, Aquila the Eagle, with its brightest star Altair. The three bright stars in this one can be easily confused for Orion's belt, given their similar size, however they are not in line as straight, and are part of a bigger diamond shape.  Use a star chart to find small Delphinus and Sagitta in the area as well. Before Work: Pegasus, Andromeda – Look directly south and most of the way up the sky and you'll find the very big and almost perfect square of Pegasus, the winged horse. Now if you look to the top left of the square, you'll see three pairs of stars creating a neat double curve to the left and up from that corner star. That is Andromeda. If you have a little extra time, find the middle pair of stars, connect them with a line, and move toward the inside of the curve about the same distance as those stars are apart. There you'll find the Andromeda Galaxy, which will be just a small faint fuzzy with your naked eye. The cool part is that you are looking at billions of stars that are 2.9 million light years away, that spread out about 150,000 light years across. 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 updates are on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as @pvplanetarium.

January 3, 2023: The Summer Triangle is visible before sunrise and after sunset. Four planets are strung across the sky after sundown. The gibbous moon is near Mars. This episode is also available as a blog post: 2023, January 3: The Summer Triangle Morning, Evening Planets, Moon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jeffrey-l-hunt/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jeffrey-l-hunt/support

Each season has a notable constellation or group of stars that can serve as a guidepost to that part of the sky. In summer it's common to use The Summer Triangle, but in autumn we have “The Great Square of Pegasus.”

Summer ended almost a month ago, but some of the stars of summer are still hanging around. And some of them will remain in view until well into winter. On the other hand, a few others are taking their final bows. Scorpius, for example, is quite low in the sky as darkness falls. Some of the stars that outline its curving body have dropped below the horizon by then, and some others are so faint that you can't really see them. Its bright heart, Antares, should be visible for a few days longer, in the southwest. But it's so low that you need a clear horizon to spot it. Sagittarius, the archer, stands to the upper left of Scorpius. Some of its bright stars form the outline of a teapot. It's tilted to the right, as though pouring its brew onto the scorpion's tail. It will linger until around Thanksgiving. Arcturus, the brightest star of Boötes the herdsman, is dropping lower in the west, but it, too, should remain visible through the end of the month. After that, the only holdout is a star pattern named for the season: the Summer Triangle. Right now, it stands directly overhead as night falls, marked by the bright stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair. Because of their high northern latitudes, the stars are in view in the evening sky most nights of the year. And all three will remain in view well into January — bringing a bit of summer to the night skies of winter.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

The Summer Triangle is a useful guidepost to many interesting deep sky objects, but it's also a way to find other constellations nearby. For example, a popular little pattern among stargazers is Delphinus the Dolphin.

September skies bring the lovely Summer Triangle asterism into prime position after nightfall for observers in the Northern Hemisphere. Its position high in the sky may make it difficult for some to observe its member stars comfortably, since looking straight up while standing can be hard on one's neck! While that isn't much of a problem for those that just want to quickly spot its brightest stars and member constellations, this difficulty can prevent folks from seeing some of the lesser known and dimmer star patterns scattered around its informal borders. The solution? Lie down on the ground with a...Article Link

Many of the bright stars that decorate the night sky fit a similar profile. They're roughly twice the size and mass of the Sun, a couple of dozen times its brightness, and only a fraction of its age. The list includes two of the stars of the Summer Triangle, which is high in the sky at nightfall, and the five middle stars of the Big Dipper, which is in the northwest. Another star that fits the profile is in Lacerta, the lizard, which is half way up the northeastern sky. The faint little constellation's brightest star is Alpha Lacertae. It's about a hundred light-years away — far enough to dim some of its luster, so you need dark skies to see it. Like the other stars that fit this profile, Alpha Lacertae is class “A.” That's based on its surface temperature, which is thousands of degrees higher than the surface of the Sun. At that temperature, the star shines pure white. Alpha Lacertae is about 400 million years old — just one-tenth the age of the Sun. It won't live nearly as long as the Sun will, because it's more than twice as massive as the Sun. Its gravity squeezes its core tightly, revving up its nuclear reactions. So Alpha Lacertae will live a “normal” lifetime of only a couple of billion years, versus about 10 billion years for the Sun. After that, it'll cast its outer layers into space, briefly surrounding its dead core with a bubble of gas — bringing its fairly short life to a colorful end.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

The swan climbs high across the southern sky on summer nights. It's marked by its bright tail, the star Deneb. It's the lower left point of the wide-spread Summer Triangle. The swan's body angles to the upper right of Deneb, as though the swan were taking flight from a pond. Its long, graceful wings flank its body. The brightest star of the top wing is Delta Cygni. It's a system of at least three stars. Two of them are a good bit bigger, brighter, and heavier than the Sun, while the third is less massive than the Sun. The heavier stars orbit each other at an average distance of almost 15 billion miles — roughly 150 times the distance from Earth to the Sun. But the little guy is much farther out. It's possible that when the system was born, the third star was closer in. But as the stars danced their complex orbital ballet, they swapped some of their energy. The lightweight star was pushed outward, while the heavier stars spiraled closer together. Those stars were pushed into a stretched-out orbit that looks a bit like an oval racetrack. It takes the two stars almost 800 years to make one lap around the track. But the lonely third member of the trio needs more time. It takes many thousands of years to orbit its brighter companions. Look for Delta Cygni above Deneb as darkness falls. It's about a third of the way up from Deneb to brilliant Vega, the brightest member of the Summer Triangle.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

Hosted by Chris Beckett & Shane Ludtke, two amateur astronomers in Saskatchewan. Welcome to Episode 242 of the Actual Astronomy Podcast observing in the toybox constellations. I'm Chris and joining me is Shane. We are amateur astronomers who love looking up at the night sky and this podcast is for anyone who likes going out under the stars.    So a long time ago I read an online article about how all these little constellations Vulpecula, Sagitta, Delphinus and Equuleus were referred to as the Summer Toybox (sometimes Lyra is thrown in for it's small stature) but it never caught on.     I loved that idea and what a perfect set to conquer several constellations in a short episode. So we've talked about the Summer Triangle in the past, and most newcomers should get familiar with that asterism, but these little constellations form a line running perpendicular to the Milky-Way as they cut through the bottom quadrant of the Summer Triangle.   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too!  Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.  Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

As evening twilight fades into night, look for three bright stars high in the east that form a giant triangle in the sky. Each belongs to its own constellation, but the triangle is a great way to “star hop” to areas of interest.

Producer/Host: R.W. Estela The post A Word in Edgewise 6/27/22: Midyear Mania & the Summer Triangle . . . first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Host: R.W. Estela The post A Word in Edgewise 6/27/22: Midyear Mania & the Summer Triangle . . . first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

A triangle of three bright stars has been noted throughout human history.

The Sun is a fairly big, middle-aged star. And as sometimes happens in those middle years, it moves a little more slowly than it did when it was younger — it takes almost a month to complete one full turn on its axis. Many other stars spin much faster than the Sun does. An example is Altair, the brightest star of the constellation Aquila, the eagle. Altair is almost twice as wide and heavy as the Sun. Despite its bulk, it makes a complete turn in only about 10 hours. At that rate, a point at its equator moves at about 150 miles per second — fast enough to cross from New York to Los Angeles in less than half a minute. One reason Altair spins so fast is that it's much younger than the Sun. The Sun probably turned much faster when it was younger, too. But its magnetic field acts as a brake, slowing it down. One of the effects of Altair's high-speed rotation is that its gas is forced outward at the equator, making the star look a bit like a flattened beachball. It's about 14 percent wider through the equator than through the poles. There's a limit to how flattened the star can get, though; if Altair twirled about half again as fast as it does now, it would fly apart. Altair is low in the east as darkness falls. It forms the southern point of the Summer Triangle. The highest and brightest point is the star Vega, with Deneb forming the triangle's left point. The triangle is high in the west at first light.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

Aquila, the eagle, spreads its wings across the evening sky as we head into summer. Right now, it's low in the east a couple of hours after sunset. Its brightest star, Altair, is at the bottom right point of the wide-spread Summer Triangle. Altair represents the eagle's breast, with its wings above and below. A pair of stars at one of the wingtips faces a spectacular future. The two stars will ram together, then explode as a supernova — in about 700 million years. The system is known as Henize 2-428. It consists of two white dwarfs — the dead cores of once-normal stars like the Sun. They're only a few hundred thousand miles apart — so close that they orbit each other once every four hours. As they orbit, though, they radiate gravitational waves — a process that causes them to spiral closer and closer. Each of the stars is a bit less massive than the Sun. So when they merge, they'll be almost twice as massive as the Sun. And for a white dwarf, that's a bad thing. With that much mass, the white dwarf can't hold itself together. It undergoes a runaway nuclear reaction that blows the star to bits. Such an explosion is known as a supernova, and it's extremely bright. For a few hours, the explosion may shine as brightly as the rest of the stars in the galaxy combined. The exploded stars will leave behind an expanding cloud of debris that will glow for thousands of years — the last hurrah of a pair of doomed stars.  Script by Damond Benningfield   Support McDonald Observatory

  (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 Perseids, given the very full Moon.  In decent skies, you could watch 60 meteors per hour, and you should be able to see some very bright ones here and there the week before and after.  However, the light pollution from the Moon will interfere with many of them, as well as your night vision.  But, that doesn't mean you should give up.  You never know when a really bright one will light up the sky. Remember, you're seeing the bits of dust left over from Comet Swift-Tuttle burning up as they crash into the atmosphere at 37 miles per second. Some advice for watching:     Find a dark location and lie down in a reclining chair or hammock     Look toward Perseus (In the NE, rises throughout the night until sunrise where it will be almost directly above.)  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.  The shower is usually technically active from mid-July to late August, so you may see some Perseids in the days leading up to and after the peak as well.  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) August 15th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Jupiter –  The Moon is to the right of Jupiter by just 5˚.  Visible starting 10:30pm due East. August 18th  – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Mars –  The Moon is just 3˚ above of Mars.  Visible starting midnight on the 18th due East. August 25th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Venus – A very thin crescent Moon will be just 7˚ above bright Venus.  Visible starting 5:20am due East.   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 northern crown Corona Borealis, which looks more like a small bowl or a “C” in the sky. Continue a little further to the left and you'll find the keystone asterism which is part of the constellation Hercules. Extra Challenge! Look for M13, the Hercules Cluster in between two of Hercules' “keystone” stars.  It known as the best globular cluster in the northern skies.  It will be a fuzzy spot in binoculars and will be even cooler through a telescope Summer Constellations: Lyra, Cygnus, Aquila – Look pretty much straight above you, and find the brightest star up there. You'll notice a parallelogram attached to it. This is the brightest star Vega, part of the constellation Lyra, the harp. Directly above you will be Cygnus the Swan, with its brightest star Deneb. It will look like a large cross, or if you look out a little further, a swan flying above you. Below Cygnus and Lyra is the third constellation of the Summer Triangle, Aquila the Eagle, with its brightest star Altair. The three bright stars in this one can be easily confused for Orion's belt, given their similar size, however they are not in line as straight, and are part of a bigger diamond shape.  Use a star chart to find small Delphinus and Sagitta in the area as well. Before Work: Pegasus, Andromeda – Look directly south and most of the way up the sky and you'll find the very big and almost perfect square of Pegasus, the winged horse. Now if you look to the top left of the square, you'll see three pairs of stars creating a neat double curve to the left and up from that corner star. That is Andromeda. If you have a little extra time, find the middle pair of stars, connect them with a line, and move toward the inside of the curve about the same distance as those stars are apart. There you'll find the Andromeda Galaxy, which will be just a small faint fuzzy with your naked eye. The cool part is that you are looking at billions of stars that are 2.9 million light years away, that spread out about 150,000 light years across.   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 updates are on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as @pvplanetarium.    

June 15, 2022: The morning moon is in front of the Teapot. The morning planet parade continues in the eastern sky before sunrise. As night falls, the Summer Triangle signals that the summer season is arriving north of the equator. This episode is also available as a blog post: 2022, June 15: Teapot Moon, Planets, Evening Summer Stars https://whenthecurveslineup.com/2022/05/12/2022-june-15-teapot-moon-planets-evening-summer-stars/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jeffrey-l-hunt/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jeffrey-l-hunt/support

In this week's episode, Rachel is joined once again by Galactic Historian and Starseed Intuitive Debbie Solaris. Debbie shares her interpretation of what Starseeds are and why they are here on Earth. She notes the influx of Starseeds we are currently seeing here on our planet.Debbie offers insight into what the mission of these Starseeds is and how it connects to Indigo, Crystal, and Rainbow children. The guides us through a fascinating explanation of the galactic history that she is familiar with.She then goes into great detail about a few of the more popular races of Starseeds. Those are Lyrans, Sirians, and Plaedians. She shares the interest of each race as well as what mantra they are attuned to. Take a listen and if you'd like to get to know Debbie more you can connect with her through the following:Get on the waitlist by emailing Ann (Debbie's assistant) here:  debbie@debbiesolaris.comYouTube: Debbie SolarisWebsite: https://www.debbiesolaris.com/Instagram: @debbiesolarisFacebook: Debbie SolarisRecommended Books and Movies“Three Waves of Volunteer And The New Earth” by Delores Cannon“Destiny of Souls” by Michael Newton“Journey of Souls” by Michael Newton“The Prism of Lyra” by Keith Priest and Lyssa Royal“Valerian And The City of A Thousand Planets”Rachel would love to hear what you enjoyed most about this conversation. Let her know through the following:IG: @liveyourrawlifeF: Live Your RAW Life Y: Live Your RAW LifeE: liveyourrawlife@gmail.comWeb: www.liveyourrawlife.comIf you'd like to support this AD-FREE podcast you can do so through:Patreon link:https://www.patreon.com/liveyourrawlifeIf something resonated with you from this week's episode please subscribe to the show and leave a review while you are there. Every time a review or rating is received it opens up the platform that allows the show to reach a wider range of listeners. Your support is greatly appreciated.

May 26, 2022: The crescent moon nears Morning Star Venus. Mars closes in on Jupiter before their conjunction in three mornings. Saturn is nearby. This episode is also available as a blog post: 2022, May 26: Morning Planet, Moon Spectacular, Evening Summer Triangle --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jeffrey-l-hunt/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jeffrey-l-hunt/support

This week let's give Spring a true Welcoming, as we talk about The Stars of Spring - The Spring Triangle, in particular. You may not know The Spring Triangle because it's less attention-grabbing than the Winter Circle and the Summer Triangle. But it becomes visible as early as February, and by early April, it's stars are all up by mid-evening. So, when you see the Spring Triangle is a harbinger for the warm springtime air. The Spring Triangle is made up of three of the sky's brightest stars: Regulus, Arcturus and Spica. We'll talk about each of these stars in detail. And we'll join John Reade as he shows us how to learn about the Spring Constellations! Be well. Do good. Enjoy the show!

One of the brightest stars of the summer sky is performing double duty here in the dead of winter — it appears in both early evening and early morning. And from far-northern latitudes, it never sets at all — it's in the sky every hour of the day, all year 'round. Deneb is at the tail of Cygnus, the swan. The brilliant star forms one point of the Summer Triangle, which soars high overhead during the summer months. Deneb remains visible for all or most of the year, though, because it's quite far north in the sky. It's about 45 degrees from the North Star, Polaris. From the northern hemisphere, Polaris is always at the same point in the sky, day or night. Its altitude depends on your latitude. From 30 degrees north, it stands 30 degrees above the northern horizon. And from 50 degrees north, it's 50 degrees above the horizon. As Earth turns on its axis, any star that's within that range of Polaris remains in view all night. From Seattle or Duluth, for example, that includes Deneb. At this time of year, the star passes just above the horizon during the night. For skywatchers south of that range, though, Deneb does disappear — for anywhere from a few minutes to hours. From most of the United States, it's in the northwest as night falls now and sets a few hours later. But it climbs into view again before dawn — this time in the northeast. So keep watch for Deneb — a summer star that's performing double duty on winter nights.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

Summer is long gone, and winter's just more than a week away. Yet one of the signature star patterns of summer is still in great view in the evening sky. The Summer Triangle is well up in the west at nightfall. Its brightest point is the star Vega, about a third of the way up the sky. Deneb stands above it, with Altair well to the left of Vega. Deneb represents the tail of Cygnus, the swan. At this time of year, the swan is nose-diving toward the horizon. In this position, the star pattern looks a lot like a crucifix, so it's also known as the Northern Cross. It stands directly atop the horizon about 10 o'clock. Every star and constellation has its own season. That's because there's a difference in the time it takes the Sun and the other stars to return to the same position in the sky. The background stars — those we see at night — return to the same position every 23 hours and 56 minutes. But during that span, Earth moves a good distance in its orbit around the Sun. As a result, it takes four minutes longer for the Sun to return to the same position. The difference means that the distant stars all rise and set four minutes earlier each night, or two hours each month. The Summer Triangle first appears at nightfall around the start of summer. Over the following months it climbs high overhead, then drops down the western sky in autumn and into early winter — a remnant of the warmer months of summer.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

In 30 million years or so, the Milky Way Galaxy may stage a spectacular fireworks display. It could give birth to hundreds of thousands of stars in just a few million years — the result of a massive collision. Smith's Cloud is falling toward the Milky Way's disk. The cloud is about 10,000 light-years long. To get a sense of how big that is, consider that it spans about 20 times the width of the full Moon as seen from Earth, even though it's maybe 40,000 light-years away. Astronomers are still trying to figure out where the cloud came from. A study a few years ago used Hubble Space Telescope to examine its chemistry. From that, scientists suggested that it came from the outer regions of the Milky Way's disk — perhaps blasted away by a cluster of exploding stars about 70 million years ago. Today, it's falling back toward the disk — toward the outer edge of the Perseus spiral arm. When it hits, it'll slam into other clouds of gas and dust. That will squeeze all the clouds, causing them to split into clumps. The clumps then will collapse to form new stars — the equivalent of perhaps a million stars the mass of the Sun. For now, Smith's Cloud is in the constellation Aquila, the eagle, which is low in the west-southwest at nightfall. Its brightest star, Altair, marks the left point of the bright Summer Triangle. Smith's Cloud is so cold and dark that it's visible only to radio telescopes — to the lower left of Altair.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

Each season has that one notable constellation that can serve as a guidepost to that part of the sky. In summer it's common to use the Summer Triangle, which is still visible high in the west, but in Autumn we have the Great Square of Pegasus.

September 24, 2021: The Summer Triangle – Vega, Altair, and Deneb – is high in the south during the early evening hours. This episode is also available as a blog post: https://whenthecurveslineup.com/2021/09/11/2021-september-24-summer-triangle-up-high/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jeffrey-l-hunt/support

The calendar might say “September,” but now is the perfect time to explore the Summer Triangle. Find your way with this month's Sky Tour podcast. The post Summer Triangle Overhead appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

You might think it's not possible for a star to be too bright for astronomers. After all, they're always developing new telescopes and instruments to bring in more light from the stars. But a few stars are too bright for some telescopes. An example is Deneb, the leading light of Cygnus, the swan. It's too bright for Gaia, a space telescope. Gaia's detectors are designed to plot the locations and motions of more than a billion stars. Most of those stars are far and faint. Deneb is brilliant by comparison, so it would overwhelm Gaia's detectors. That's too bad, because astronomers would really like to know Deneb's distance. It's one of the biggest, brightest, and heaviest stars in our region of the galaxy. And it's likely to end its life as a supernova — a blast that'll rip the star to bits. But without a precise distance, all the other numbers are wobbly. Estimates put the distance at roughly 1,500 to 3,000 light-years. At the larger distance, it would have to be much bigger and brighter to look so bright in our sky. The best numbers say Deneb is about 20 times the mass of the Sun and 200 times the Sun's diameter. That puts the star at up to 200,000 times the Sun's brightness — enough light to overwhelm a telescope. Deneb is high in the east-northeast at nightfall. It marks one point of the Summer Triangle. It's below the triangle's brightest star, Vega — a remote but brilliant light for summer nights.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

The Summer Triangle sweeps over the top of the sky, a portal open to receive all your best rhymes and tales.

The northernmost star in the Summer Triangle marks the tail of Cygnus the Swan, also known as the Northern Cross.

After several weeks of trying different methods, the operations team successfully revived the stalwart Hubble Space Telescope, which experienced a payload computer fault back on June 13. The first images taken were of several unusual galaxies. Plus, Jupiter's moon Io triggers radio emissions from the giant planet, and this week, What's Up returns with a look at the Summer Triangle.

         Like fireworks, July is mostly quiet and dull, but the noisy and bright events really make it worthwhile.  We have two pairs of planets, visible during opposite times in opposite places, and surreptitious visits from the Moon.          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 – Mars, Venus Mars (W) – This is your last month to see Mars for a couple more months, as Earth flies around the Sun opposite of Mars in August. Just look West after sunset but before 9:30pm.  You might have some help from Venus and the Moon midmonth.    Venus (W) – Staying about 15˚ above the horizon all month, Venus is a glorious sight for those looking West around the time fireworks start. Throughout the night – Saturn, Jupiter Saturn, Jupiter – I might be jumping the gun here a little bit, but sometimes we stay up late in the Summer. Saturn rises around 10:30pm, with Jupiter rising about an hour later.  Look low in the ESE around this time and you'll see bright Jupiter down and to the left of bright, but less so, Saturn.  Now that's in the beginning of the month, and they rise earlier and earlier each day.  By the end of July, Saturn and Jupiter rise around 8:15pm and 9:15pm, respectively, during dusk.  Of course, this means it's a great time for checking out Saturn's rings and Jupiter's moons through your telescopes, but you'll probably want to stay up until, or get up early in, the morning, when they are higher in the sky, and thus clearer in the telescope. Morning – Saturn, Jupiter Saturn, Jupiter – Speaking of staying up to observe Saturn and Jupiter, where are they around Sunrise? In the beginning of July, before 5am, look S or SE almost half-way up the sky, and Saturn will be to the right and little down from the very bright Jupiter.  But at the end of July, both will be close to setting in the SW during the 5:30am dawn, with Jupiter about 15˚ higher than Saturn.    EVENTS Last Quarter Moon – 1st (Visible from midnight into the morning) Morning Crescents (look East in the AM) New Moon – 9th (darkest skies) Evening Crescents (look West after Sunset) First Quarter Moon – 17th (Visible until midnight) Evening Gibbous (Mostly lit, after Sunset) Full Moon – 23rd (Visible all night) Waning Gibbous (Mostly lit, rises later at night) Last Quarter Moon – 30th (Visible from midnight into the morning)   July 11th – 14th – Close Encounter – Moon, Venus, Mars – Not only are Mars and Venus getting less than a degree from each other on the 12th, the Moon is joining the party!  Get out there after sunset, but before 9:30 and look West.  The easiest to find will likely be the bright beacon known as Venus.  On the 11th, Mars will be only a pinky-width to the left, but very dim, while a 2 day old crescent Moon hangs out about 3 finger-widths to the right at about the same height.  The best night is likely the 12th, when Mars and Venus are half as far apart as the previous night, and the Moon is thicker and easier to find just 6˚ up and to the left, with Leo the lion right above the Moon.  Over the next two nights, the Moon leaves the party, through Leo, and Mars and Venus separate, but are still in the same area.  Get out those binoculars and telescopes! Find a good horizon!  You'll be looking at the three closest worlds to earth all in one view! 22nd – 26th – Close Encounter – Moon, Saturn, Jupiter – After 10:30pm look SE, or before dawn look SW to find the Moon, with bright Jupiter and Saturn nearby.  The Moon is far to the right of Saturn on the nights of the 22nd and 23rd.  On the 24th the Moon moves in between the planets, and closes in below Jupiter on the 25th, and leaves this party on the 26th.   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 northern crown Corona Borealis, which looks more like a small bowl or a “C” in the sky. Continue a little further to the left and you'll find the keystone asterism which is part of the constellation Hercules. Extra Challenge! Look for M13, the Hercules Cluster in between two of Hercules' “keystone” stars.  It known as the best globular cluster in the northern skies.  It will be a fuzzy spot in binoculars and will be even cooler through a telescope Summer Constellations: Lyra, Cygnus, Aquila – Look pretty much straight above you, and find the brightest star up there. You'll notice a parallelogram attached to it. This is the brightest star Vega, part of the constellation Lyra, the harp. Directly above you will be Cygnus the Swan, with its brightest star Deneb. It will look like a large cross, or if you look out a little further, a swan flying above you. Below Cygnus and Lyra is the third constellation of the Summer Triangle, Aquila the Eagle, with its brightest star Altair. The three bright stars in this one can be easily confused for Orion's belt, given their similar size, however they are not in line as straight, and are part of a bigger diamond shape.  Use a star chart to find small Delphinus and Sagitta in the area as well. Before Work: Pegasus, Andromeda – Look directly south and most of the way up the sky and you'll find the very big and almost perfect square of Pegasus, the winged horse. Now if you look to the top left of the square, you'll see three pairs of stars creating a neat double curve to the left and up from that corner star. That is Andromeda. If you have a little extra time, find the middle pair of stars, connect them with a line, and move toward the inside of the curve about the same distance as those stars are apart. There you'll find the Andromeda Galaxy, which will be just a small faint fuzzy with your naked eye. The cool part is that you are looking at billions of stars that are 2.9 million light years away, that spread out about 150,000 light years across. 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 updates are on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as @pvplanetarium.

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   August is good for two things in the sky: bright planets and bright meteors.  Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter reign supreme this month, with the annual Perseid Meteor Shower heating things up with spectacular observing conditions for mid-month.          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 Venus (W) – Staying about 15˚ above the horizon all month, Venus is a glorious sight for those looking West after sunset. Mars, Mercury (W) – Mars is technically in the West after sunset, but is super low, and pretty dim, so it's doubtful you'll be able to pick it out. Mercury passes my Mars on the 18th, but again, it's too low and too dim to see. Throughout the night – Saturn, Jupiter Saturn, Jupiter – Throughout August, Saturn rises around 8pm, and Jupiter just after 9pm, both in the SE. Both gas planets rise and move southward.  In the beginning of August, they get drowned out by the dawn light in the SW in the morning.  But by the end of the month, Saturn sets at 4am, with Jupiter trailing at 5:30am. Morning – Saturn, Jupiter Saturn, Jupiter – This is the last month of seeing Jupiter and Saturn in the dawn sky. You'll notice that they are quite visible in the SW before sunrise, but they will be lower and lower each morning,  with Saturn disappearing in the beginning of the month, and Jupiter dipping out before the last week.   EVENTS... Morning Crescents (look East in the AM) New Moon – 8th (darkest skies) Evening Crescents (look West after Sunset) First Quarter Moon – 15th (Visible until midnight) Evening Gibbous (Mostly lit, after Sunset) Full Moon – 22nd (Visible all night) Waning Gibbous (Mostly lit, rises later at night) Last Quarter Moon – 30th (Visible from midnight into the morning)   August 10th – 11th – Close Encounter – Moon, Venus – Get out there and watch the sunset (8:07pm) and hang out until you see bright Venus with a thin crescent Moon directly to the right of it on the 10th.  The following night, the Moon will move to the left and up from Venus.   August 11th – 12th – Perseid Meteor Shower – An EXCELLENT year for the Perseids!  In decent skies, you can watch 60 meteors per hour, and you should be able to see some very bright ones here and there the week before and after. Remember, you're seeing the bits of dust left over from Comet Swift-Tuttle burning up as they crash into the atmosphere at 37 miles per second. Some advice for watching:     Find a dark location and lie down in a reclining chair or hammock     Look toward Perseus (In the NE, rises throughout the night until sunrise where it will be almost directly above.)  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.  The shower is usually technically active from mid-July to late August, so you may see some Perseids in the days leading up to and after the peak as well.  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)   19th – 22nd – Close Encounter – Moon, Saturn, Jupiter – Anytime after 9pm, get out there and look SE to find the Moon, Saturn, and Jupiter.  On the 19th, they line up with Jupiter on the left, Saturn in the middle, and the Moon on the right.  After this, the Moon passes by the two gas planets, being just below Saturn on the 20th, down and to the right of Jupiter on the 21st, and to the left of both planets on the 22nd.  All three move westward throughout each night, setting between 4am and 6am.   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 30˚ 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 northern crown Corona Borealis, which looks more like a small bowl or a “C” in the sky. Continue a little further to the left and you'll find the keystone asterism which is part of the constellation Hercules. Extra Challenge! Look for M13, the Hercules Cluster in between two of Hercules' “keystone” stars.  It known as the best globular cluster in the northern skies.  It will be a fuzzy spot in binoculars and will be even cooler through a telescope Summer Constellations: Lyra, Cygnus, Aquila – Look pretty much straight above you, and find the brightest star up there. You'll notice a parallelogram attached to it. This is the brightest star Vega, part of the constellation Lyra, the harp. Directly above you will be Cygnus the Swan, with its brightest star Deneb. It will look like a large cross, or if you look out a little further, a swan flying above you. Below Cygnus and Lyra is the third constellation of the Summer Triangle, Aquila the Eagle, with its brightest star Altair. The three bright stars in this one can be easily confused for Orion's belt, given their similar size, however they are not in line as straight, and are part of a bigger diamond shape.  Use a star chart to find small Delphinus and Sagitta in the area as well. Before Work: Pegasus, Andromeda – Look directly south and most of the way up the sky and you'll find the very big and almost perfect square of Pegasus, the winged horse. Now if you look to the top left of the square, you'll see three pairs of stars creating a neat double curve to the left and up from that corner star. That is Andromeda. If you have a little extra time, find the middle pair of stars, connect them with a line, and move toward the inside of the curve about the same distance as those stars are apart. There you'll find the Andromeda Galaxy, which will be just a small faint fuzzy with your naked eye. The cool part is that you are looking at billions of stars that are 2.9 million light years away, that spread out about 150,000 light years across 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 updates are on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as @pvplanetarium.  

In this (belated) Gemini episode, I discuss the wisdom of Gemini and introduce the idea of star magic available during Gemini season, specifically the Summer Triangle asterism.   This episode is dedicated to the memory of Drew, a friend and supporter of the podcast. May his radical Aquarian honesty, love, and beauty be a blessing to us all.

The three bright stars of the Summer Triangle are one of the best ways to star hop around the summer sky.

July Early Mornings, 2021: Step outside as morning twilight begins, about two hours before sunrise. Look high in the south for the Summer Triangle, high above Jupiter and Saturn. This episode is also available as a blog post: https://whenthecurveslineup.com/2021/07/02/2021-early-july-mornings/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jeffrey-l-hunt/support

May 20, 2021: With two bright planets in the southeast before sunrise, the Summer Triangle – Vega, Altair, and Deneb – is high in the south as daylight approaches. This episode is also available as a blog post: https://whenthecurveslineup.com/2021/05/13/2021-may-20-morning-summer-triangle/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jeffrey-l-hunt/support

The young Moon joins the evening planets in the west before the Summer Triangle rises in the east. Click here to find out more about my book, YOU CAN explore the universe. Pre-order or buy from Bookshop | Amazon | Blackwell's Star Signs is a Stargazing✦London production. Sign up for a FREE stargazing course later this month at stargazing.london

When it comes to understanding an exploding star, one number trumps all: distance. If astronomers don’t know the distance to a dying star, they can’t be sure how the star is going out. That may be the case with CK Vulpecula. Normally, it’s too faint to see with the eye alone. But centuries ago, it flared up. It first grew bright enough to see in 1670. Then it grew brighter still in March of 1671 — 350 years ago this month. The leading idea has been that the flare-up was produced by the collision and merger of two stars. Different models have come up with different types of stars, but the basic idea has stayed the same. A recent study, though, found that CK Vulpecula may be five times farther than shown by earlier measurements — about 10,000 light-years. If so, then the outburst was about twenty-five times brighter than thought. A collision between two stars wouldn’t be powerful enough to make the star shine that brightly. Yet the outburst wouldn’t have been bright enough to be the result of a supernova — a titanic explosion that rips a star to bits. So CK Vulpecula may be an in-betweener — a type of explosion that can’t yet be explained. CK Vulpecula is far too faint to see without a telescope. Yet its location is easy to pick out. It’s in Vulpecula, the fox. It stands near the middle of the bright Summer Triangle, which is high in the eastern sky at first light on March mornings. Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

The first confirmed black hole sits near the center of the Summer Triangle — a pattern of three bright stars that’s in the west on December evenings. Cygnus X-1 was discovered during a short rocket flight in 1964. But strong evidence of its nature was provided by a later mission. Called Uhuru, it was launched 50 years ago today. The craft was designed to study X-rays. They’re produced by some of the hottest and brightest objects in the universe. But Earth’s atmosphere absorbs X-rays, so we can’t see them from the ground. The only way to study them is from space. Uhuru was the first X-ray space telescope. It originally was known by a couple of other names. But it was launched by Italy from a platform off the coast of Kenya. In honor of the host country, it was renamed Uhuru — Swahili for “freedom.” Besides its international pedigree, it had a couple of other distinctions. It was the first science satellite managed by a woman — Marjorie Townsend, an engineer at Goddard Space Flight Center. And its top scientist, Riccardo Giacconi, later won the Nobel Prize for this and other X-ray missions. Uhuru cataloged four times the number of X-ray sources known before its mission. The list included the remnants of exploded stars, hot binary stars, galaxy clusters, and the disks around black holes. The craft took a close look at several of those targets — including Cygnus X-1, the first confirmed black hole. Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

The first confirmed black hole sits near the center of the Summer Triangle — a pattern of three bright stars that’s in the west on December evenings. Cygnus X-1 was discovered during a short rocket flight in 1964. But strong evidence of its nature was provided by a later mission. Called Uhuru, it was launched 50 years ago today. The craft was designed to study X-rays. They’re produced by some of the hottest and brightest objects in the universe. But Earth’s atmosphere absorbs X-rays, so we can’t see them from the ground. The only way to study them is from space. Uhuru was the first X-ray space telescope. It originally was known by a couple of other names. But it was launched by Italy from a platform off the coast of Kenya. In honor of the host country, it was renamed Uhuru — Swahili for “freedom.” Besides its international pedigree, it had a couple of other distinctions. It was the first science satellite managed by a woman — Marjorie Townsend, an engineer at Goddard Space Flight Center. And its top scientist, Riccardo Giacconi, later won the Nobel Prize for this and other X-ray missions. Uhuru cataloged four times the number of X-ray sources known before its mission. The list included the remnants of exploded stars, hot binary stars, galaxy clusters, and the disks around black holes. The craft took a close look at several of those targets — including Cygnus X-1, the first confirmed black hole. Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

With summer behind us, a couple of starry symbols of the season are facing different futures. One is getting ready to disappear in the evening twilight, while the other will hang on until winter. Scorpius, the scorpion, is quite low in the south and southwest as night falls. Its brightest star, Antares, is still easy to see. But the scorpion’s body, which stretches to the lower left of Antares, and its head, to the right of Antares, are harder to pick out. Like all the other stars, those of Scorpius rise and set four minutes earlier each day. So over the next few weeks, Scorpius will drop lower in the sky night by night. That will make it harder and harder to see. That’s especially true from locations that are farther north, where parts of the scorpion are already dipping below the horizon by the time the sky gets dark. On the other hand, the Summer Triangle is in magnificent view at that hour. Its brightest point, the star Vega, is almost directly overhead. It’s one of the brightest stars in the northern sky, so it’s easy to pick out. Deneb, the tail of the swan, takes its place atop the sky an hour or so later. And Altair, the third point of the triangle, moves high across the south. The Summer Triangle sets earlier each night as well. But as we head through autumn and into winter, the Sun will also be setting later. So that extends the viewing time for the triangle into winter — making it a star pattern for all seasons. Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

A fox carries a goose high across the sky this evening. You need dark skies to pick them out, and a vivid imagination to “see” them. The constellation Vulpecula stands high in the southeast at nightfall. It’s near the middle of the Summer Triangle, which is defined by the stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair. Johannes Hevelius created the constellation more than three centuries ago. His original name for it was Vulpecula cum Anser — fox with goose. He showed it as a fox holding a goose in its jaws. Perhaps the fox later ate the goose, or perhaps the goose escaped and flew away. Whatever the reason, the name was shortened to just Vulpecula — the fox. The goose is still remembered, though, in the name of the constellation’s brightest star — Anser. It’s not much to look at. In fact, you need dark skies to see the star at all. The star itself is actually pretty impressive. It’s a red giant — a dying star that’s puffed up like a giant balloon. But its distance of 300 light-years dulls its luster. One of Vulpecula’s claims to fame is the first pulsar. When it was discovered more than a half-century ago, there was a brief hope that it might be a signal from another civilization. But follow-up work showed that it was the crushed, rapidly spinning core of a dead star — an impressive discovery in its own right. Another dying star has created another impressive object in Vulpecula: the Dumbbell Nebula. We’ll have more about that tomorrow. Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

The Summer Triangle is a useful guidepost to many interesting deep sky objects, but it’s also a way to find other constellations nearby. For example, a popular little pattern is Delphinus the Dolphin.

The stars that dust the night sky are all moving around the center of the galaxy at hundreds of thousands of miles per hour. Yet they’re so far away that their motion is imperceptible — across not just a human lifetime, but hundreds of lifetimes. In fact, even one of the fastest stars as seen from Earth will move just one degree over the next 5,000 years — less than the width of a finger held at arm’s length. Altair is the brightest star of Aquila, the eagle. In fact, the name “Altair” means “the flying eagle.” The star is in the southeast at nightfall, at the lower right corner of the bright, widespread Summer Triangle. Altair is only about 17 light-years away — closer than all but a handful of the stars visible to the unaided eye. That’s the main reason it’s moving in such a hurry. It’s like watching race cars on opposite sides of a track. Although the cars are all moving at about the same speed, those on the side closer to you cover a larger angle in a given time than those on the far side. In the stars, though, that motion is too small to see with the eye alone. Instead, astronomers make precise measurements of a star’s position against the background of more-distant stars. Comparing Altair’s position over a period of years reveals its apparent speed across the sky. Again, look for Altair high in the southeast at nightfall, climbing high across the south during the night, and almost due west as it sets, before dawn. Script by Damond Benningfield   Support McDonald Observatory

Most of the stars that populate the galaxy are in the prime of life. It’s a phase that can last anywhere from a few million years to a trillion years or longer. In astronomical jargon, that phase of life is known as the main sequence. And a prime example of a star that’s on the main sequence is Altair, the leading light of Aquila, the eagle. The star is high in the southeast at nightfall, at one corner of the bright Summer Triangle. The main sequence is named for a relationship between a star’s brightness and its surface temperature or color. More than a century ago, two astronomers noticed that if you plotted those two characteristics on a graph, most stars lie along a narrow line — the main sequence. And it’s all because of what’s going on inside those stars. Altair is bigger and brighter than the Sun, for example, and its surface is thousands of degrees hotter. Yet both are on the main sequence because they’re both “fusing” the hydrogen fuel in their cores to make helium. That keeps both of them shining steadily. A star’s time on the main sequence depends on its mass. The Sun, for example, will spend about 10 billion years in that phase. But Altair is almost twice the Sun’s mass, so it “burns” through the hydrogen much more quickly. As a result, it’ll spend just a quarter as much time on the main sequence. After that, it’ll puff up and enter the next phase of life: a red giant. We’ll have more about Altair tomorrow. Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

We are in the middle of the Perseid meteor shower, this episode will tell you everything you need to observe it. Also find out about the Summer Triangle in the sky!

The Moon buddies up with the Gas Giants and Mars, and we find Hercules' Arrow in the Summer Triangle.

This episode focuses on, The Summer Triangle, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Corona Borealis, Delphinus and Hercules.

Seeking skywatching highlights in June 2020? Look for the Summer Triangle, keep tabs on the morning planets and June 20 brings the solstice.

Seeking skywatching highlights in June 2020? Look for the Summer Triangle, keep tabs on the morning planets and June 20 brings the solstice.

What are some skywatching highlights you can see in June 2020? Look for the Summer Triangle rising in the east after sundown, keep tabs on the morning planets and June 20 brings the solstice.

What are some skywatching highlights you can see in June 2020? Look for the Summer Triangle rising in the east after sundown, keep tabs on the morning planets and June 20 brings the solstice.

Have you heard of the Summer Triangle? Chris and Shane will tell you what this is and talk about some spectacular objects to observe in a few small constellations.

The stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair form what's called the summer triangle, which sweeps overhead all night during the warmer months of the northern hemisphere.

The stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair form what's called the summer triangle, which sweeps overhead all night during the warmer months of the northern hemisphere.

June brings us all the naked-eye planets at some points in the month, Venus’s introduction to the morning with the Moon, and mornings with four naked-eye planets visible.          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.  EVENTS... Full Moon – 5th (Visible all night) Last Quarter Moon – 13th (Visible from midnight into the morning) New Moon – 21st (darkest skies) First Quarter Moon – 28th (Visible until midnight) 7th – 8th – Close Encounter – Moon, Jupiter, Saturn– Get out after midnight these two nights at the find the Moon. On the night of the 7th, the Moon will be to the right of bright Jupiter, and to the left of Jupiter will be slightly less bright Saturn.  On the next night, the 8th, the Moon will move to be about 5˚ below Saturn and Jupiter, which are in essentially the same spot in the sky.  12th – 13th – Close Encounter – Moon, Mars – Get out there after 2am these mornings, but well before sunrise (5:34am) and find the Moon with red, ruddy Mars nearby.  The Moon will be about 10˚ or one fist-width to the right of Mars on the 12th, and 4˚ below Mars on the 13th. 19th – Very Close Encounter – Moon, Venus – Venus starts its rest-of-the-year showcase as a morning star with a great apparition by rising with the Moon this morning.  Make sure you have a nice view of the ENE horizon by 4:20am when they rise less than 1˚ apart from each other. Sunrise is 5:35am, so you’ll probably only have about half an hour to get pictures. 20th – Summer Solstice – This is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.  There’s a bit of explanation as to why here.  21st – (Africa & Asia) Annular Eclipse of the Sun – Not visible in any way in North America, but pay attention to social media for some awesome photography from people with excellent equipment, lots of planning time, and skills with post-processing.  They’ll be photographing the Moon passing in front of the Sun, but the Moon is in the further-from-Earth part of its orbit, so it doesn’t totally obscure the Sun’s surface, so you get ring effect.   Naked-eye PLANETS... Sunset – Mercury Mercury – For only about two weeks, catch a glimpse of the innermost, fastest-moving, and often toughest to see visible planet of our solar system. Just watch sunset, look WNW, and find the bright light below Pollux and Castor, less than 15˚ above the horizon. Throughout the night – Saturn, Jupiter Saturn, Jupiter – Both planets are rising above the ESE horizon by midnight on the 1st, 10pm on the 30th, and make their way toward the SSW by sunrise. To find Jupiter, just look for the brightest spot no more than 30˚ above the horizon. Saturn will be about 5˚ to the left.  These make a great pair for getting your binoculars and telescopes out.  You can see the rings of Saturn and moons of Jupiter fairly easily, and not have to do too much to switch from one planet to the other. Morning - Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter Saturn, Jupiter – Still hanging out up there, but more toward the South or SW by sunrise. See above for details. Mars – Trails behind, or to the left of, Saturn and Jupiter by about 50˚ or 5 fist-widths, and is about 30-40˚ above the SE horizon. Look for the non-twinkling red dot. Venus – After about a week and a half, you might be able to see Venus low on the NNE horizon after 5am and before sunrise. As the month goes by, Venus rises earlier and moves away from the Sun.  On the 30th, Venus rises at 3:45am, and is about 20˚ above the horizon by sunrise (5:38am). Prepare for Venus to be a morning “star” for the next 6 months! CONSTELLATIONS... Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out. After Dinner, Before Bed: 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 30˚ 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 northern crown Corona Borealis, which looks more like a small bowl or a “C” in the sky. Continue a little further to the left and you’ll find the keystone asterism which is part of the constellation Hercules. Extra Challenge! Look for M13, the Hercules Cluster in between two of Hercules’ “keystone” stars.  It known as the best globular cluster in the northern skies.  It will be a fuzzy spot in binoculars and will be even cooler through a telescope Before Work: Summer Triangle – Lyra, Cygnus, Aquila – Look pretty much straight above you, and find the brightest star up there. You’ll notice a parallelogram attached to it. This is the brightest star Vega, part of the constellation Lyra, the harp. Directly above you will be Cygnus the Swan, with its brightest star Deneb. It will look like a large cross, or if you look out a little further, a swan flying above you. Below Cygnus and Lyra is the third constellation of the Summer Triangle, Aquila the Eagle, with its brightest star Altair. The three bright stars in this one can be easily confused for Orion’s belt, given their similar size, however they are not in line as straight, and are part of a bigger diamond shape.  Use a star chart to find small Delphinus and Sagitta in the area as well. 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 updates are on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as @pvplanetarium.

Download September's Sky Tour astronomy podcast for tips on observing Jupiter, Saturn, and the easy-to-spot Summer Triangle. The post September 2019: Triangle Time appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

July and August are a great time to use three bright stars to "star hop" to areas of interest.

July is the month of Jupiter and Saturn this year, with both gracing the skies all night, easily visible with the naked eye, and even better through binoculars or a telescope.   Naked-eye PLANETS... Around Sunset – Jupiter (S), Saturn (SE) Throughout the night – Jupiter (SàSW), Saturn (SEàSW) Morning – Saturn (SW)   Mercury Not really visible. Venus Not really visible. Mars Not really visible. Jupiter Already high in the sky as dusk turns to night off in the SE and will probably be the first point of light you can see. Throughout each night it’ll move toward the South, then set in the SW by 4am at the beginning of the month. Throughout the month it’ll start higher in the sky and set earlier, by 2am on the 31st. Saturn Saturn will trail behind Jupiter in the sky by about 30˚, rising just after sunset, and setting right around sunrise. Hence, this month it’s Saturn’s turn to reach opposition, giving us a lot of time to observe the planet and its rings.   EVENTS... New Moon – 2nd (darkest skies) First Quarter Moon – 9th (Visible until midnight) Full Moon – 16th (Visible all night) Last Quarter Moon – 24th (Visible from midnight into the morning) 12th – 16th – Close Encounter – Moon, Jupiter, Saturn – A great lineup for 5 days, with Saturn and Jupiter starting each night in the SSE, about 30˚ apart from each other. On the 12th, the Moon will be about 10˚ up and to the right of Jupiter. The next night it travels to just 3.5˚ to the left of Jupiter. Now the Moon starts heading closer to Saturn, being almost right between Jupiter and Saturn on the 14th, then just 2.5˚ to the right of Saturn on the 15th. On the 16th, the Moon bids adieu to the gassy outer planets and finishes the encounter 10˚ down and to the left of Saturn, creating a great evening lineup of the Moon, Saturn, and Jupiter for the remainder of the night. 16th – Partial Lunar Eclipse – If you live in South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, or Africa, you’ll be able to see this. Those of us in North America…nope. 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 30˚ 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 northern crown Corona Borealis, which looks more like a small bowl or a “C” in the sky. Continue a little further to the left and you’ll find the keystone asterism which is part of the constellation Hercules. Extra Challenge! Look for M13, the Hercules Cluster in between two of Hercules’ “keystone” stars.  It known as the best globular cluster in the northern skies.  It will be a fuzzy spot in binoculars and will be even cooler through a telescope Summer Constellations: Lyra, Cygnus, Aquila – Look pretty much straight above you, and find the brightest star up there. You’ll notice a parallelogram attached to it. This is the brightest star Vega, part of the constellation Lyra, the harp. Directly above you will be Cygnus the Swan, with its brightest star Deneb. It will look like a large cross, or if you look out a little further, a swan flying above you. Below Cygnus and Lyra is the third constellation of the Summer Triangle, Aquila the Eagle, with its brightest star Altair. The three bright stars in this one can be easily confused for Orion’s belt, given their similar size, however they are not in line as straight, and are part of a bigger diamond shape.  Use a star chart to find small Delphinus and Sagitta in the area as well. Before Work: Pegasus, Andromeda – Look directly south and most of the way up the sky and you’ll find the very big and almost perfect square of Pegasus, the winged horse. Now if you look to the top left of the square, you’ll see three pairs of stars creating a neat double curve to the left and up from that corner star. That is Andromeda. If you have a little extra time, find the middle pair of stars, connect them with a line, and move toward the inside of the curve about the same distance as those stars are apart. There you’ll find the Andromeda Galaxy, which will be just a small faint fuzzy with your naked eye. The cool part is that you are looking at billions of stars that are 2.9 million light years away, that spread out about 150,000 light years across Don’t forget to check out my Podbean page, YouTube Channel, and Twitter feed, or get my podcast feed on Stitcher, or iTunes.

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.  June will be warmer, with shorter nights, but still some good events. Watch for Mercury and Mars in a conjunction mid-month, Jupiter up all night long, and some good lunar close encounters.   Naked-eye PLANETS... Around Sunset – Mars (W) until 10:30pm – 9:30pm, Mercury (W) until 10pm Throughout the night – Jupiter (SEàSàSW), Saturn (SEàSW) Morning – Saturn (SW), Jupiter (SW) Mercury Makes something of an appearance this month, by starting out low on the Western horizon after sunset, setting itself around 10pm but getting a little higher each night until the last week. Make sure you have a clear horizon to the WNW, where Mars will also be making an appearance, with both planets closest together on the 18th. Venus Not really visible. You MIGHT catch it if you have binoculars pointing ENE an hour before sunrise, low on the horizon. Mars Mars is already in the W around sunset and setting a little after 10:30pm in the beginning of the month, getting lower each day until it sets around 9:30 at the end of the month. Mars will pass right by Mercury on the 18th. Bring some binoculars to help, but your naked eye should be sufficient to catch both of the planets in West after sunset until the last week of June. Jupiter Will be reaching opposition this month, meaning it’s off in the SE after sunset, passes by the South after midnight, and sets in the SW right around sunrise. Great time to get the telescope out to see the cloud bands and Galilean moons. Saturn Rising between 11pm and 9pm, Saturn will be about 30˚ to the left of Jupiter all month, hanging out in the top left of Sagittarius. If you’re up early, it’s a good time to observe its highly tilted rings, as it’s still above the horizon in the SW before sunrise.   EVENTS... New Moon – 3rd (darkest skies) First Quarter Moon – 10th (Visible until midnight) Full Moon – 17th (Visible all night) Last Quarter Moon – 25th (Visible from midnight into the morning) 4th/5th – Close Encounter – Moon, Mars, Mercury – A VERY very thin crescent Moon will be technically visible just 5˚ to the left of Mercury and VERY low on the horizon, but you’ll probably need binoculars to catch either of them. The next night on the 5th, the Moon will be higher and a tad thicker and now 5˚ up and to the left of Mars, making a nice string of objects – Moon, Mars, Mercury. 16th – 19th – Close Encounter – Moon, Jupiter, Saturn – Get out after sunset on the 16th to find the Moon only 4˚ down and to the left of Jupiter.  Watch them travel together throughout the night to the West by sunrise. The next night, the Moon will move to be almost directly in the middle between Jupiter and Saturn. The 18th is when the Moon visits Saturn, only 1˚ below, starting around 10pm. Lastly, the Moon finishes off the left side of a Moon-Saturn-Jupiter lineup on the 19th. 16th – 19th – Conjunction – Mars, Mercury – Get out right after sunset with a pair of binoculars. Look W and a tiny bit to the right to find Mars and Mercury less than 1˚ apart, with Mars on the left and Mercury on the right before the 18th. Then, on the 18th, Mercury is directly above Mars. Then they switch positions and Mercury is moving to the left of Mars. 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.     CONSTELLATIONS... Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out. After Dinner, Before Bed: 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 30˚ 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 northern crown Corona Borealis, which looks more like a small bowl or a “C” in the sky. Continue a little further to the left and you’ll find the keystone asterism which is part of the constellation Hercules. Extra Challenge! Look for M13, the Hercules Cluster in between two of Hercules’ “keystone” stars.  It known as the best globular cluster in the northern skies.  It will be a fuzzy spot in binoculars and will be even cooler through a telescope Before Work: Summer Triangle – Lyra, Cygnus, Aquila – Look pretty much straight above you, and find the brightest star up there. You’ll notice a parallelogram attached to it. This is the brightest star Vega, part of the constellation Lyra, the harp. Directly above you will be Cygnus the Swan, with its brightest star Deneb. It will look like a large cross, or if you look out a little further, a swan flying above you. Below Cygnus and Lyra is the third constellation of the Summer Triangle, Aquila the Eagle, with its brightest star Altair. The three bright stars in this one can be easily confused for Orion’s belt, given their similar size, however they are not in line as straight, and are part of a bigger diamond shape.  Use a star chart to find small Delphinus and Sagitta in the area as well. Don’t forget to check out my Podbean page, YouTube Channel, and Twitter feed, or get my podcast feed on Stitcher, or iTunes.  

The Night Sky Podcast | The Movement Of The Milky Way 10/28/18 Produced by Billy Newman and Marina Hansen The Movement Of The Milky Way 10/28/18 Link Website Billy Newman Photo http://billynewmanphoto.com/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/billynewmanphoto Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/billynewmanphotos/ Twitter https://twitter.com/billynewman Instagram https://www.instagram.com/billynewman/ About http://billynewmanphoto.com/about/ Billy Newman Photo Podcast Feed http://billynewmanphoto.com/feed/podcast/billynewmanphotopodcast If you're looking to discuss photography assignment work, or a podcast interview, please drop me an email. Drop Billy Newman an email here. If you want to book a wedding photography package, or a family portrait session, please visit GoldenHourWedding.com or you can email the Golden Hour Wedding booking manager here. If you want to look at my photography, my current portfolio is here. If you want to purchase stock images by Billy Newman, my current Stock photo library is here. If you want to learn more about the work Billy is doing as an Oregon outdoor travel guide, you can find resources on GoldenHourExperience.com. If you want to listen to the Archeoastronomy research podcast created by Billy Newman, you can listen to the Night Sky Podcast here. If you want to read a free PDF eBook written by Billy Newman about film photography: you can download Working With Film here. Yours free. Want to hear from me more often?Subscribe to the Billy Newman Photo Podcast on Apple Podcasts here. If you get value out of the photography content I produce, consider making a sustaining value for value financial contribution, Visit the Support Page here. Produced by Billy Newman and Marina Hansen Link Website Billy Newman Photo https://billynewmanphoto.com/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/billynewmanphoto Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/billynewmanphotos/ Twitter https://twitter.com/billynewman Instagram https://www.instagram.com/billynewman/ About https://billynewmanphoto.com/about/ You can find my latest photo books all on Amazon here. Hello, and thank you very much for listening to this episode of the night sky podcast. My name is Billy Newman. And I'm Marina Hansen. And tonight we are live again in the field in the wild that we are under the night sky in Maui, Hawaii. And we were up near a coffee plantation up the road from the Lynette Kaanapali area. And it's cool. We have sky above us, we have a little bit of like cloud and mist and stuff over to the side. But it's really more clear and darker than it was a few nights ago when we had talked closer to the full moon. So we probably have probably a couple hours even to tell the moon comes up tonight, I think so it's it's been a couple days, but it's nice. We are under the night sky tonight. And we were going to I guess make some observations and talk about him a little bit while we're hanging out here under the sky. So it's kind of fun. What did we talk about last time we were talking we were going through like a bunch of the star stuff and sort of like where some of the things were, I think we talked about like the Summer Triangle. Or like some of the start like Vega and didn't have an Altair. I wanted to talk tonight about like, how we can see the Milky Way tonight. And it's cool right now this time in October like what you notice over there, it's like you see that area of the sky? And so what you might notice is like what you see Taurus over there, do you see Taurus over there? It's pretty faint, but you can kind of make it that V I'm sure after this car passes. Once the headlights again. Okay, well so Okay, look up there. Over to the east. You see the Pleiades I do see the Pleiades right so if the Pleiades at the tail of the bowl, the little tag of the tail then then the horns of the bowl are down here. So you see the V bright so that we see is all Tiburon. And then we have like the V of the bowl over there and Torah. So we see we see tourists over there. And then we see the Pleiades and then we move up here and we see parts of Perseus so we see like Capella down there in Riga, Riga. I didn't learn my constellations. But we see Perseus up here, which we'll get into that in a little bit, too. I want to talk about Perseus stuff. And then as we move up here, we see Cassiopeia and then we kind of move across here. And then we see the NAB and Seder and Vega. And then I'll tear over to the side. And then we kind of move on further down toward the western horizon where we see Sagittarius. And so what you'll notice with this is this band right here in the Milky Way. You see that out? It's kind of like right through there. Yeah, a lot more noticeable today. Yeah. And what's cool, though, at this time of year is what we're noticing is, so in the summertime, we would have been looking at the Milky Way running north-south as it rose up above the horizon. So you would look kind of appear, and you sort of see the band of the Milky Way stretch from the north part of the sky, to just the due south part of the sky. And that's sort of the weird kind of motion that you see in the stars over the night. Is that as the kind of turn around the North Star over here? Or is it our star Verizon or star over there, my feet lower than I think. But as you see the stars rotate around the North Star, they kind of have like a circular motion to them. So they come up from the east or North East area. And then this they come up, they straighten out at the top toward their Zenith, and then they start to kind of curl back in. So that's why some of the stars are like circumpolar like the ones that are well, at least like this, this far south, even in Hawaii, that's a little bit different than what we're used to at home. But like if it if it were a little bit further home, you kind of see the set of stars that sort of turn around the North Star, but they would stay up the whole time. So they'd be like up throughout the year. I think like our tourist is close to that if you're in northern latitudes, I think like up near up in Canada or something like that, or definitely like in Alaska, you can see Arcturus, I think the whole year long is it kind of cruises around the bottom and then comes up again, similar with Capella too, as you can see that for almost the whole year, because it's in like a part of the sky that's just sort of stays because you're so far north as far south. They said, I guess, seasonally, of course. So it's kind of interesting spotting that out. But what we notice now though, and what we're talking about is this band of the Milky Way that stretches across East-West now so we have Sagittarius really sort of over probably what's on the western horizon where like Saturdays I think we probably can't even see it right now. It's probably close to down or or just in like the murk of the clouds sort of on the horizon line of the ocean. But what's cool is Yeah, we've kind of moved this way, eastward, Lee. And so what we do is we move from Sagittarius, who's what we know is a summer constellation Like a summer and sort of end the summer-fall constellation. And then we move up to this stuff that was summer constellation like Vega did NAB Seder Altair like those stars. And then we move over here to like Cassiopeia, which is one that we really kind of don't see rise. Well, Cassiopeia is the one that's really probably one that kind of goes around circumpolar around the North Star. Along with the Big Dipper, that's probably like what's most noticeable about some of those, the asterisms that make up the constellations around the North Star. But what we notice is that that's sort of an winter constellation that starts to rise up. And then we see Perseus which is sort of a winter constellation. And then we see that stretch over there to Capella, which is part of the the winter constellations that are kind of come up. And we see it stretch over there, to Taurus and alder Baron and the Pleiades, which is sort of a winter constellation. And then after that, we're going to see Orion. And then here in Hawaii, we're going to get to see Sirius and proceed, and of course, but then further south of that, because we're further south, near the equator, we're going to get to see Kenobi has come up. And so what you're noticing is that all of these bright stars that make up a number of constellations, these over here to the west in the summertime, and then these over here in the east, are winter constellations that are coming up. And so we're that fall point right now, where now we're going to start seeing these winter constellations in the Milky Way, these bright stars that are here, sort of bend up, and then they're going to start to point toward the south again. And that's where we kind of get that rotation of the stars throughout the year to come through. Does that make sense? A little bit? Yeah, I know. I remember noticing it from past years. Yeah. So what's cool about this time of year, and then I think, like another time, when we were out in Eastern Oregon, we were hanging out late at night on a camping trip with Robert in the springtime. In March. Remember that and we went out, we looked out on the sky. And we could kind of see sort of on the horizon we were looking at and kind of making note of the stars we could see. And it was sort of this same circumstance in reverse, where you get to see summer constellations, and winter constellations and sort of how they're all on this band of the Milky Way. by a certain time of year, the fall. And then now more than later, the springtime, you get to see kind of a different view of them than maybe we are used to during the winter, or during the summer where they're they're kind of rotated east-west along the axis. It's kind of cool. It's interesting checking it out. So the thing I wanted to point out as one of the winter constellations was Perseus up here, do you see this one up here? So we see like, it's kind of hard to spot a little bit. So there's Cassiopeia which is the W four we see here, and then out sort of from Cassiopeia. This way is the constellation of Andromeda is to Cassiopeia. Yeah, it'd be easy to Cassiopeia as we kind of lead out a little bit, that's gonna be like, the constellation of Andromeda. So up there is gonna be the Andromeda galaxy, which I think we had spotted and talked about before. And then over here, like, so down, there is Capella, though, we can spot and that's, it's like that star and then DC like those. You see probably one star, and then there's a third star over there. And then a fourth, but there's like a little like kind of curve shape right there. And that's like the constellation that Capella isn't, but up here is Perseus. And so I guess it's the head of Perseus over toward, I guess it would be the west side. And then you kind of come down. And then out. along this stretch over here is where Perseus is the hero holding up the head of the Medusa. And so that's that side over there. Do you see that? on the east side? Yeah. On the east side. So I think it's I think it's the star, that bright star there i think is Merv, fac. Like Mar, fa K, I'll probably screw up these names. And then the brighter star that's kind of out to the side is Oh, Satoshi star. Hey, that's our second one tonight. Thanks, you see it, no shooting stars. So that so the first thing is Murphy back. And then the other one out here is like our goal. And I think our goal was like an Arabic word. Because like a bunch of the star names are Arabic. I think our goal was one that meant head of the ghoul. And so that's sort of related to like Perseus and how it's Perseus holding up the head of Medusa, which is pretty cool. So it's just kind of an interesting way of thinking about that constellation. But yeah, so that's the constellation of Perseus over there. It's kind of neat. And then we see like the Pleiades over there like that little bit of a Dipper, a little cluster of stars, which is like the tail I think was mentioned earlier of Taurus the bowl. And then so Taurus is in the Zodiac line. Well, I think after that it's like was like Taurus and like, Gemini and cancer are kind of all over there. And then we're gonna see like Leo, I probably got this out of order just now. And then what if you were going to, I guess rotate that up, like up here a little higher? Do you see these two stars up here? Says the Pleiades down there. And then there's like these two stars that are a little closer together up here. northwest of Pleiades, what would that be? It would be or just west west of the Pleiades and just a little south. So the Pleiades and then it's these two stars? I see. Yeah. So that is the constellation Aries up there. And so it's like Aries the ram that's in that spot. And so that's like another one of the constellations that's in the zodiac sign. I think that's the one that would be in the sun during the month or maybe it's April. Does that sound right? And April and Pisces before that, which is going to be kind of over here, I guess is like the constellation of Pisces, the two fish. And then is it Aquarius and Capricorn? Or is it the other way around? Well, guy, well, there's Capricorn out there, but where, but where Mars is. And then I think it's moving into Aquarius over here. And then it's Pisces over here. And then Aries over here and then Taurus over there. Hmm, maybe I'm getting that right. But it's cool. Good to see some of the stars out here. I think it's kind of neat. Yeah, that's causing the lineup. Yeah, yeah, definitely. It's cool. Getting to see him like in a line like that. And yeah, getting to make some observation is pretty fun. Yeah, it's really interesting getting to go through and see how some of the Milky Way constellations are lined up here, east to west as we see it now. And then out some of these Zodiac constellations are kind of lined up just a little askew south of there now. And it's kind of interesting seeing how the zodiacs are with a path of the stars and the stars, pardon, the path of the planets and the sun sort of intersect with the area of the Milky Way over there. And then they do it again, as as the sun goes around and intersects with the Milky Way over on that side where you get over toward towards Scorpio, and Sagittarius on the other side. So it's kind of interesting, sort of seeing how those two bands sort of come around and intersect with each other a couple times a year. I just think that's kind of interesting to sort of spot out a bit. But yeah, it's cool getting this spot out. Like Taurus over there and the Pleiades starting to come up. I'm excited for some of these winter constellations to come up. And I'm excited to get to see some of the stuff that can Opus and some of the Southern constellations that we can't really see from the mainland United States. Me too. I'm really excited to have like a whole year of getting to see constellations move through in the southern or more southern hemisphere to be really cool. We have to make a trip to the southern sky Marina. That'd be so fun. I want to see a hole. I'd be so disoriented. I noticed. Yeah, it'd be really fun. Yeah, I think you would just see like a bit like how we see the like the constant like the Zodiac constellations that summer, like how we see Scorpio on our southern Horizon, we would see it on our northern horizon. Wouldn't it be wild? Like you're so turned around? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, cuz I orient myself at night, at least, like so much. But like, Oh, yeah, I know that. I know that when I see how that comes up, and you're just kind of familiar with it, because it's your home. But yeah, once you move into the southern sky be it'd be totally different in a way, I guess. So I want to see the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. I've heard about those before. I've never really seen them. I've seen like pictures and stuff I've done, but it's like, it's like two little chunks of the Milky Way galaxy, that are separated from the Milky Way galaxy. And so it's like this little kind of clump of the Milky Way look, but just like Out, out and off and the southern hemisphere. Oh, interesting. Yeah, that'd be really neat to see. Yeah. Yeah, I think that'd be really fun. But I think there's a pretty pretty deep southern sky. And yeah, it'd be really fun to get to spot some of that stuff. But so that'll wrap up most of our stuff. I think we're gonna come back for a Halloween episode soon. I think we have a couple cool things to talk about, that we've been learning about in relation to how the whole day of Halloween exists in relation to the calendar. I think that'd be really cool to talk about. So, on behalf or excuse me, I guess we're gonna wrap up our podcast now. So thank you guys very much for listening to this episode of the night sky podcast. My name is Billy Newman, and I'm really handsome and we will talk to you again soon on Halloween. Bye

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.  Don’t forget to check out my Podbean page, YouTube Channel, and Twitter feed, or get my podcast feed on Stitcher, or iTunes. Looking for Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, or Mars? This is your last good month to see all of them at the same time. Also, get ready for some longer nights, the astronomical start of Fall, and a shallow dive into Sagittarius, the Summer Triangle, and Cassiopeia.   Naked-eye PLANETS... Around Sunset – Venus (WSW), Jupiter (SW), Saturn (S), Mars (SSE) Throughout the night – Saturn (SW), Mars (SEàSW) Morning – None   Mercury Get your binoculars out the first week of September around 5:30am – 6am to look east in search of Mercury. Venus Venus enters the final phase of its half-year-or-so long appearance this month. Look West  and find the brightest source of light in that direction, about a fist-width above the horizon. If you have a telescope, you can watch Venus go from half phase to a beautiful big crescent. Mars Mars is already in the SSE around sunset, left of Sagittarius, traveling toward the SW and setting around 2am. Jupiter Up in the SW around sunset, hanging out in Libra, setting right around 9pm in the WSW. Saturn Already up around sunset. Look about 25˚ above the S horizon in evening or low in the SW before midnight, at the top of Sagittarius. Rings are close to maximum tilt.   EVENTS... Last Quarter Moon – 2nd (Visible from midnight into the morning) New Moon – 9th (darkest skies) 12th – Close Encounter – Moon, Venus – If you have a clear view of the horizon in the West, you can catch a thin crescent Moon 10˚ above Venus. 13th – Close Encounter – Moon, Jupiter – Find the Moon around sunset and you’ll also find Jupiter about 5˚ below and to the left, with dimmer Zubenelgenubi (Libra’s brightest star), directly below the Moon. 15th – Close Encounter – Saturn, Moon, Jupiter, Antares – Find the Moon and you’ll see Saturn off to the left about 20˚, Jupiter to the right about the same distance, and Scorpio’s brightest star Antares below the Moon. First Quarter Moon – 16th (Visible until midnight) 17th – Close Encounter – Moon, Saturn – Find the Moon after sunset and you’ll also find Saturn only 4˚ to the right. A great chance to see two really bright objects right near each other, with the teapot of Sagittarius right below. 19th – Close Encounter – Moon, Mars – Looking for Mars? If you’re out on the 19th, find the Moon and then look about 3 finger-widths below for the red dot that is Mars. It’ll now be getting smaller and dimmer as the months pass by. 22nd– Fall Equinox – When all locations on Earth experience a day of almost exactly 12 hours and a night of almost exactly 12 hours.  It is the astronomical first day of fall, even though meteorologically it typically starts in the beginning of September. Full Moon – 24th (Visible all night)   CONSTELLATIONS... (see sky map link at the bottom for a Star Map for this month)    After Dinner: Sagittarius – Use binoculars (or even a telescope) and a star chart to scan through the southern constellation of Sagittarius.  Currently the home constellation of Saturn.      There are at least 7 easily visible clusters and nebulas up and to the right of the “teapot” of Sagittarius. The Summer Triangle: Lyra, Cygnus, Aquila, Delphinus - Look straight up before 10pm 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.  If you’re looking past 10pm, they’ll be moving toward the West and lower in the sky. Before Work: Cassiopeia – Just a few degrees below the zenith, in the North, is the Queen. Just look North and tilt your head almost all the way up, and you’ll see the 5 bright stars that form an M or upside down W in the sky, depending on what font you normally use. The angle on the left will be ALMOST a right angle, with the one on the right being obtuse. Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out.

As evening twilight fades into night, look for three bright stars high in the east that are great for starhopping to areas of interest.

The Moon, Mars and Saturn form a pretty triangle in early April, The Lyrid Meteors are visible in late April, peaking high overhead on the 22nd.

The Moon, Mars and Saturn form a pretty triangle in early April, The Lyrid Meteors are visible in late April, peaking high overhead on the 22nd.

Produced by Marina Hansen and Billy Newman Link Marina Hansen Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/marinavisual/ Billy Newman Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/billynewman/ Website Billy Newman Photo - http://billynewmanphoto.com/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRxCs7sDRYcJoNls364dnPA Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/billynewmanphotos/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/billynewman Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/billynewmanphoto Website Billy Newman Photo - http://billynewmanphoto.com/ About  -  http://billynewmanphoto.com/about/ Get Out There Podcast Feed http://billynewmanphoto.com/feed/podcast/getoutthere Media Tech Podcast Feed http://billynewmanphoto.com/feed/podcast/media-tech-podcast Billy Newman Photo Podcast Feed http://billynewmanphoto.com/feed/podcast/billynewmanphotopodcast The Night Sky Podcast Feed http://billynewmanphoto.com/feed/podcast/thenightskypodcast Ebook Working With Film (2013) http://billynewmanphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Working_With_Film.pdf Ebook Western Overland Excursion (2012) http://billynewmanphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Western-Overland-Excursion-E-book-0812.pdf The Night Sky Podcast | Hesperus And The Summer Triangle Hello, and thank you for listening to this episode of the night sky podcast. My name is Billy Newman. And I'm Marina Hansen. And we're really happy to be back again, this week, one more time to do a little bit of a rundown of the news. And some of the cool observations that we've been making of the night sky. The summer sky right now here in July, in the Northern Hemisphere has been really cool. There's a lot of stuff going on. It's just always good observation, weather, right? Like we get to go out every night, we can see more stuff. And the Milky Way's making it up pretty high in the sky now. So that's pretty cool to get to go out and see every night, but there's a lot of cool stuff like in the south sky, with Sagittarius Scorpio and the planets that are out. So it's been cool just to go out and kind of see the progression night over night. A lot of fun doing that with you. Yeah, it's been really fun having some summer weather, some clear skies. observation, I want to do more like telescope observations with Yeah, I do, too. I really what I really want to do, I want to do telescope observations. But I also want to get a pair of binoculars. Oh, yeah, I think that'd be really fun. You know, I think that binoculars would be the way to go for us. And I think that'd be really cool to get into some of the de

Take a late summer road trip along the Milky Way. Be sure to stop at Saturn!

In Episode SH034 of Star Hopping… We’ll be exploring the Cygnus region, and we’ll use our star hopping methods to find the The Coathanger (Brocchi’s Cluster), The Veil Nebula (NGC 6960), and the North American Nebula (NGC 7000). Intro Well as June approaches, we are seeing the bright Summer Triangle appearing well above our eastern Read More ... The post SH034 – Find The Coathanger, The Veil Nebula, and the North American Nebula appeared first on Star Hopping.

This is WWRVN, Radio Ravenclaw.   Faithful listener llim called in again to the station to remind people that there will be a lunar eclipse this weekend visible to much of North and South America, Asia and Australia. Unfortunately, it may be too cloudy over her location to see it (and she’s not sure she’ll wake up at 5am) but perhaps the conditions will be more favorable for you other listeners. http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2015-april-4   Good Morning and welcome to The Fresh Pot of Coffee on Ravenclaw Radio. It’s Friday - and that means Fondoo Review! Polyglot Scrabble (R) is scheduled tonight in the Common Room. Remember our rules, if it is recognized by yourself and at least one other player at the table as being a valid word in any language, it’s good. Kanji tiles are being knit as we speak. Merry Beasts were last seen “sneaking” loudly off to the dungeons to abscond with a wheel of cheezes. Ahem It is rumoured that RHoH SadieLou - known to the Muggles as Sadie O’Hades - will be coaching a “learn-to-skate” night up on the sixth floor round balcony. Bring your own skates, and personal safety spells are required. Break Month Levity has returned - watch for Martin Freeman’s daily lighthearted appearance as captured by our reporter in the field Cyprienne. Those of you who like your Fondoo on the explosive side are invited to join the Lab crew tonight at 10. Hijinks will ensue. And now, the weather. Nøtt slowly releases her grip on the North American Eastern Seaboard Clouds here at the station with a glimmering of sky in the east. Does everyone know the Summer Triangle asterism? It’s clearly visible before sunrise nowadays, about 4 or 4:30 AM wherever you are. Look up and slightly eastish if you have clear skies outside of a city. The Jolly Island of Ærø expects a bit of hail today. Clucks will be safe until they decide to gorge on hailstones. A blue cloud over London worried the muggles yesterday. Order of the Phoenix Chief FrickNFrack issued a statement that the Cornish Pixie problem at OotP headquarters rapidly dissipated thereafter. We see no chance of meatballs in the near future, but some yahoo is trying to call lightning down onto the Sahara so that the desert glazes and becomes a skate park. We call upon the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to take care of this mess! Now, fans, go stick your hand out a window, count to ten, and bring it back in. If it’s covered in white stuff, your region has snow. If the white stuff is little ice balls, you have hail. If it’s wet, I predict rain, and if a few fingers are missing - gale force winds for you (or loose tigers). Time for some of those century-old sounds. You know the ones. The original earworms. “It’s punk,” said early reviewers. “This is not serious music!” said others. Who’s laughing now? Let’s queue up “Pirates of Penzance.” They’re Gilbert and Sullivan. I’m GazeboGal, and you’re listening to Radio Ravenclaw on the Wizarding Wireless Network.  

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