Tonight – November 8, 2016 – and tomorrow night, the moon is sweeping near the 8th planet Neptune on the sky’s dome. It would be even harder than usual to find Neptune because of the moon’s glare tonight. Still, if you want to know Neptune’s location on the sky’s dome – maybe in order to find it later this month when the moon has moved away – look at tonight’s moon. It is pointing the way.
What will you see? Only the moon shining in all its splendor. You can gaze at it and imagine Neptune nearby.
The image at top is a spacecraft image of Neptune. It’s from Voyager 2, the only spacecraft that has ever visited Neptune. The spacecraft’s closest approach to the planet occurred on August 25, 1989. Neptune is the eighth planet out from our sun and outermost of the major planets.
It’s the only major planet in our solar system that you absolutely can’t see with the unaided eye.
Like the moon, Neptune is close to the ecliptic, or path the planets follow in front of the constellations of the zodiac. We see them travel this pathway across our sky because the major planets in our solar system, and Earth’s moon, orbit the sun in a nearly flat plane.
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The moon is sweeping near Neptune’s location on our sky’s dome around November 8 and 9, 2016.
On November 8, Neptune shines in front of the constellation Aquarius, and near the star Lambda Aquarii (see more detailed chart of Aquarius below).
Although the moon and Neptune are close together on the sky’s dome tonight, they’re nowhere close in space. The moon resides just over one light-second from Earth, whereas Neptune looms way out there at over four light-hours away. In other words, Neptune is nearly 12,000 times farther away than the moon in tonight’s sky.
Once the moon leaves the evening sky, starting in the second half of November, Aquarius will easy to spot in a dark country sky. Then, if you’re armed with a telescope or powerful binoculars and a good sky chart, you might be able to glimpse Neptune.
Sky chart of the constellation Aquarius, We label the star Lambda Aquarii, a 4th-magnitude star that is visible to the unaided eye in a dark sky.
For a stellar reference, learn how to star-hop to Lambda Aquarii, your guide star to Neptune. Neptune demands high-quality binoculars or a telescope, patience and a detailed star chart. Look for Neptune and the star Lambda Aquarii to take stage within the same binocular field.
Bottom line: On November 8, 2016, use your mind’s eye to envision the solar system’s most distant major planet – Neptune – near the moon.
Do you love stargazing? Order your EarthSky Planisphere today!
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1MEy5eP
Tonight – November 8, 2016 – and tomorrow night, the moon is sweeping near the 8th planet Neptune on the sky’s dome. It would be even harder than usual to find Neptune because of the moon’s glare tonight. Still, if you want to know Neptune’s location on the sky’s dome – maybe in order to find it later this month when the moon has moved away – look at tonight’s moon. It is pointing the way.
What will you see? Only the moon shining in all its splendor. You can gaze at it and imagine Neptune nearby.
The image at top is a spacecraft image of Neptune. It’s from Voyager 2, the only spacecraft that has ever visited Neptune. The spacecraft’s closest approach to the planet occurred on August 25, 1989. Neptune is the eighth planet out from our sun and outermost of the major planets.
It’s the only major planet in our solar system that you absolutely can’t see with the unaided eye.
Like the moon, Neptune is close to the ecliptic, or path the planets follow in front of the constellations of the zodiac. We see them travel this pathway across our sky because the major planets in our solar system, and Earth’s moon, orbit the sun in a nearly flat plane.
2017 EarthSky Lunar Calendar pre-sale…is happening NOW!
The moon is sweeping near Neptune’s location on our sky’s dome around November 8 and 9, 2016.
On November 8, Neptune shines in front of the constellation Aquarius, and near the star Lambda Aquarii (see more detailed chart of Aquarius below).
Although the moon and Neptune are close together on the sky’s dome tonight, they’re nowhere close in space. The moon resides just over one light-second from Earth, whereas Neptune looms way out there at over four light-hours away. In other words, Neptune is nearly 12,000 times farther away than the moon in tonight’s sky.
Once the moon leaves the evening sky, starting in the second half of November, Aquarius will easy to spot in a dark country sky. Then, if you’re armed with a telescope or powerful binoculars and a good sky chart, you might be able to glimpse Neptune.
Sky chart of the constellation Aquarius, We label the star Lambda Aquarii, a 4th-magnitude star that is visible to the unaided eye in a dark sky.
For a stellar reference, learn how to star-hop to Lambda Aquarii, your guide star to Neptune. Neptune demands high-quality binoculars or a telescope, patience and a detailed star chart. Look for Neptune and the star Lambda Aquarii to take stage within the same binocular field.
Bottom line: On November 8, 2016, use your mind’s eye to envision the solar system’s most distant major planet – Neptune – near the moon.
Do you love stargazing? Order your EarthSky Planisphere today!
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1MEy5eP
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