Podcaster: Rob Webb
Title: Observing With Webb in January 2018
Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School
Link: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ;
https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ;
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrWebbPV
https://sites.google.com/site/pvplanetarium/home
follow me : @MrWebbPV
To listen to this email as a podcast, go to my Podbean page. To see a video of this information, go to my YouTube Channel
Description: Mornings are for the planets this month, with Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn all making appearances, including conjunctions of two different pairs of these planets. The Moon will pass by each of these planets, be full twice, and be eclipsed by Earth’s shadow, but only visibly in certain spots.
Bio: Rob Webb is a physics, astronomy, and sustainability teacher at Pequea Valley High School in Pennsylvania. His passions include teaching, astronomy, astrophotography, planetariums, running, reading, and golf. A proud graduate of Dickinson College in 2005, he also obtained a Master’s Degree in Science Education from Penn State University after conducting research in regards to the current state of planetariums in Pennsylvania. Feel free to contact him at rob_webb@pequeavalley.org
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Transcript:
Mornings are for the planets this month, with Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn all making appearances, including conjunctions of two different pairs of these planets. The Moon will pass by each of these planets, be full twice, and be eclipsed by Earth’s shadow, but only visibly in certain spots.
Naked-eye PLANETS…
Mercury
Venus
Mars
Saturn
Jupiter
EVENTS…
Full Moon – 1st (Visible all night) – Happens to be a supermoon, which is when the Moon appears a tiny bit larger in the sky due to the coincidence of the Full Moon and the Moon being at perigee, or closest approach in its (slightly) elliptical orbit.
6th, 7th – Conjunction – Jupiter, Mars – Both mornings, look SSE after 3:30am but at least 20 minutes before sunrise, which is about 7:30am. Find bright Jupiter, with dimmer, but redder, Mars less than ½˚ away (half a pinky’s width held at arm’s length).
Last Quarter Moon – 8th (Visible from midnight into the morning)
11th – Close Encounter – Moon, Mars, Jupiter – After 3:00am find the Moon in the SE. Mars and Jupiter will both be within 5˚ to the right and down of the beautifully crescent Moon.
13th – Conjunction – Saturn, Mercury – Rising at about 6:30am, when sunrise is 7:24am, these two will be VERY low on the horizon, but visible in the SE less than 1˚ apart. Mercury should be a little brighter than Saturn, which is right above it. If you’re having trouble, find the crescent Moon and look a little less than 20˚ down and to the left, using two fists held at arm’s length as your guide.
14th, 15th – Close Encounter – Saturn, Mercury, Moon – On the 14th, the Moon will be a little lower, thinner, and closer to Saturn and Mercury, which are a little further apart than yesterday morning. On the 15th, the Moon will be VERY thin, VERY low, and to the left of Mercury and Saturn
New Moon – 16th (darkest skies)
First Quarter Moon – 24th (Visible until midnight)
Full Moon & Total Lunar Eclipse (for some) – 31st (Visible all night) – Find the Moon on the morning of the 31st to catch a glimpse of a total eclipse, but only if you live in the West or Midwest of America, Australia, China, and other places. Eastern U.S. might only see the very beginning of the umbral part of the eclipse, since the Moon will be setting at about that time.
CONSTELLATIONS… STRAIGHT UP
Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to visually help you out.
If you’re looking straight up above you…
SEASONAL CONSTELLATIONS:
Winter: Orion is easy to spot as he is visible in the East after sunset. You can use Orion to find many other winter constellations.
Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out.
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
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The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Audio post-production by Richard Drumm. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. This year we will celebrates the Year of Everyday Astronomers as we embrace Amateur Astronomer contributions and the importance of citizen science. Join us and share your story. Until tomorrow! Goodbye!
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