Friday, April 24, 2009

Mercury

So, while the sunspots were a wash, we DID find out that there is a fairly rare opportunity to observe Mercury occuring even as we speak. From now until about the middle-ish of May, you can observe Mercury in the sky above the newly-set sun. Mercury can be clearly seen for up to two hours after sunset at the zenith of the sighting window. This zenith occurs on Sunday, May 26th.

I'm crossing my fingers for clear skies!

Saturn is also observable this month. If you know how to find the North Star, it shouldn't be too hard to find Saturn. Instead of following the line formed by the outer cup stars of the Big Dipper to Polaris, follow them for a little bit greater distance in the opposite direction. Saturn lies just on the other side of the constellation Leo, and is, at about 10:30 p.m., almost directly south of the North Star.

How do I know?

I found this great site:

http://www.planetarium.montreal.qc.ca/Information/ciel_du_mois_a.html

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