When the sun goes down, the show is just starting. The sky is filling with a canopy of dazzling lights and then…
The Galileo Galilei’s moons
Labeled as Galilean satellites – after the Galileo Galilei, who first observed them in 1610 – Jupiter enlightens the sky with four of his moons. Also, look in the sky at 2 a.m. when Europa, one of the visible moons, appears behind Jupiter. After 9 a.m. is best viewing time for the other two of Jupiter satellites – Ganymede and Callisto – slipped right on Firnament. If you want to follow in Galileo’s steps, it requires only a simple telescope and a drop of curiosity.
Venus and Jupiter are at the right time
The spinning pearl, Venus it is now shining in the right corner twice as bright, brighter than any point in the sky. If you carry a telescope, you can observe half of the surface illuminated this week. Venus and Jupiter’s celestial apparitions call attention to themselves during two times: nautical twilight, at 9 p.m. when planets and stars come along; and evening twilight – from sunset until when the geometric center of the sun is 6 degrees lower horizon.
The asteroid of a planet-size
Ohio-sized belt asteroid 4Vesta can be peeked on the right side of Saturn. Although the size and the orbit closeness of Earth, Vesta is not a real threat to humankind. Even it has the dimension of a planet – a tiny one – the Sun, Mars, and Venus are way closer.
Saturn’s ring steals the show
The most distant planet for the naked eye, Saturn will come out above the lid of the teapot shape of constellation Sagittarius. When the darkness falls, one of the asteroids of Saturn glimmers from rural areas more than inside the city. Through a medium telescope, you can see at a glance the Saturn’s rings glimmering at best view times. At some point, they will vanish from the sight and reappear after ten years.
As our second lead editor, Anna C. Mackinno provides guidance on the stories Great Lakes Ledger reporters cover. She has been instrumental in making sure the content on the site is clear and accurate for our readers. If you see a particularly clever title, you can likely thank Anna. Anna received a BA and and MA from Fordham University.