This Week Facing East

This Week Facing East

The dawn sky is punctuated this week with a spectacular lineup of some of the brightest celestial objects in the heavens. The waning crescent Moon is the centerpiece of the eastern horizon in the hour before sunrise, shimmering next to Venus, currently a blazing gem of a ‘morning star’ due east, piercing the darkness of the horizon well before the first light of day, and remaining brilliant until the glow of sunrise washes out the planet.

Fall is a great time for seeing the morning sky since the days are getting shorter and the darkness lingers longer each morning, giving early risers like me a chance to get in some astronomy before starting my day in earnest. Each morning this week as I step out of my front door facing east, I await the spectacle of some of the brightest stars in the entire night sky and the wandering visitor Moon this week, taking the stage with Venus to amaze me and all who take a moment to savor this sight.

Image courtesy Sky & Telescope. 

Bright Stars and Planets in the Morning

Fantastic Morning Sky

I get up early, and I am quite aware of the fact that as autumn begins, the mornings are darker and darker. Here in the west side of San Francisco, autumn is when our clear skies return (following the summer fog) and the sky starts to come alive. My early start of the day means that I get to see the fabulous winter skies and the brilliant planet Jupiter when I step outside to get the newspaper. The southeasterly view just before dawn is riveting, with Jupiter dominating
the sky to the east, and the stunning constellation Orion, and the brightest star in the sky Sirius, to the south.

Later this week, the waning gibbous Moon glides high across the sky, passing near Jupiter on the 28th. As the sunrise moves a few minutes later each morning, the sky becomes more accessible and if you can spare a minute of your morning routine, you'll like what you see.

Image courtesy of Sky & Telescope.

The Morning Star and a Real Star

Venus and Regulus align

As the days grow shorter in Autumn and the Sun rises later and later, the early riser is rewarded with a clear view of the Morning Star in the east. Of course, it's not a star, but the very bright planet Venus. Each passing day, Venus moves gradually in comparison to the backdrop of stars and this week Venus aligns itself with the bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo the Lion. The two should make a fine pair, in particular on the morning of October 3rd when the pair will be a tiny distance apart, less than half the width of the Moon. If you are up before 6:30 am, face east and you'll have a fine view of this alignment.

Image courtesy of Sky & Telescope Magazine.

Morning Glory

Morning Glory

As the seasonal change of the approaching Autumnal Equinox starts to manifest, the morning sky is still visible when I get up, and the view to the east and overhead is spectacular. The stars of the big, bold winter constellations punctuate the view, with the Pleiades, Orion and Taurus dominating the scene, along with the bright planet Jupiter (and shimmering Venus lower on eastern the horizon). This week, the waning Moon lends to an already-exciting sky, so if you are an early riser, savor a few moments before you start your day, and enjoy the panorama that rises just ahead of the Sun.

Image courtesy of Sky & Telescope.

Viewing all 5 Visible Planets in one night

As the nights grow longer and the skies darker, we have the chance for the next few weeks to see all five planets visible to the naked eye in a single night. Of course, there are seven planets in our Solar System (not including Earth), but two (Uranus and Neptune) are just too faint to see without optical aid. However, the rest (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) are spread around the entire sky, adding a lot of brightness to our already-shiny Autumn and Winter skies. This article in the science blog EarthSky is an excellent guide to help you find each planet. Of course, to find Jupiter and Venus you need little guidance because they are so bright, but Mercury, Saturn and Mars will be easier to find with some assistance from a sky map.

And if you are ready to look deeper and see all 7 in one night, here is a chart to guide you to Uranus and Neptune. They are both just west of Jupiter, in the constellations Pisces and Aquarius.

Image courtesy NASA.

KFOG Broadcast - October 25, 2011

I was a guest on a live broadcast with the KFOG Morning Show today, talking about Jupiter, things to see in the Autumn night sky, the Pleiades, meteor showers, and the Bay Area Science Festival. The DJs on the Morning Show are an interesting group, and the conversation is always lively. Click here to listen.

Observing Twilight into Dusk

The minutes after sunset are some of the most beautiful, as the last rays of sunlight have disappeared and the sky begins its daily transition from bright blue to dark night. Looking west after sunset in the early days of Fall, you quickly find Arcturus shining due west, at first looking almost like an airplane that is moving very slowly. But soon you realize that this is a star, the third-brightest in the heavens. It is bright enough to shine clearly through the glow of twilight. The colors of the sky are changing rapidly during twilight, and the brightest stars soon emerge. In late September, you can easily find the fifth-brightest star in the heavens, Vega, directly overhead, guiding you to its neighbors Deneb and Altair in the Summer Triangle. And looking back toward the western horizon where Arcturus is shining, you can soon find the red supergiant star Antares shining low to the left (south-west) of Arcturus.

Later this week, the young Moon arrives in the twilight sky and passes near Antares. Find a nice western horizon, get comfortable, and enjoy the evening show that is pleasant, relaxing and beautiful to see.

Image courtesy of Sky & Telescope Magazine.

Morning Spectacle

Three planets make a nice showing in the early hours of the morning this week, with Mercury and Saturn having a close encounter. Autumn mornings are particularly interesting here in San Francisco because the weather is generally more reliable and the first light of dawn comes so late in the morning -- right now around 6:45 am with sunrise around 7:15 am. The view in the image shows what you can expect to see this week as Saturn and fast-changing Mercury line up on Thursday morning October 8th. All of this will stand in stark contrast to bright Venus, the brilliant beacon dominating the eastern sky in the morning.

Later this week there will be another amazing event in the morning sky. Stay tuned!