SUNSET PLANETS AND THE MORNING STAR RETURNS

DEAN:
WELCOME TO STAR GAZERS!

I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER FROM THE CINCINNATI
OBSERVATORY.

JAMES:
AND I'M JAMES ALBURY, DIRECTOR OF THE KIKA

SILVA PLA PLANETARIUM IN GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA.

IF YOU RE A MORNING PERSON LIKE I AM, YOU VE
BEEN WAITING OVER NINE MONTHS FOR THE NEWS

DEAN AND I HAVE FOR YOU.

DEAN:
THAT S RIGHT, JAMES!

OUR SISTER PLANET VENUS HAS RETURNED TO THE
MORNING SKY, AFTER SPENDING OVER 9 MONTHS

GRACING OUR EVENING SKIES.

JAMES:
NOW, YOU RE PROBABLY ASKING YOURSELF, WHY

DO PLANETS MAKE THESE BACK AND FORTH APPEARANCES
BETWEEN THE EVENING SKY AND THE MORNING SKY?

WELL, DEAN AND I WILL GIVE YOU THE ANSWER!

DEAN:
PLUS, IF YOU ENJOY WATCHING THE SUN SET, WE

HAVE SOME PLANETS GRACING THE SUNSET SKY AS
WELL.

WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

LET S SHOW YOU!

DEAN:
OK, WE HAVE OUR SKIES SET UP FOR JUST AFTER

SUNSET, ON SUNDAY NIGHT, NOVEMBER 11TH, FACING
SOUTHWEST.

THE MOST OBVIOUS THING YOU LL SEE IS A SLENDER,
FOUR DAY OLD, WAXING CRESCENT MOON.

NEAR THE MOON, YOU LL SEE MY FAVORITE PLANET;
THE RINGED PLANET SATURN.

MAKE SURE YOU GET OUTSIDE TO OBSERVE SATURN
DURING THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER, BECAUSE SOON

IT WILL BE DISAPPEARING BEHIND THE SUN.

JAMES:
THAT S RIGHT, DEAN.

WE VE HAD THE PLANETS IN THE EVENING SKY
ALL SUMMER LONG,

BUT NOW

THEY RE ALL, ONE BY ONE,
DISAPPEARING BEHIND

THE SUN.

VENUS LEFT A FEW WEEKS AGO, AND JUPITER
JUST RECENTLY DISAPPEARED.

DEAN:
AND

IF YOU LOOK NEAR THE HORIZON, YOU LL SEE
THE NEXT PLANET TO MAKE A DISAPPEARING ACT,

MERCURY.

BEING THE CLOSEST PLANET TO THE SUN, MERCURY S
YEAR IS VERY SHORT ONLY 88 DAYS.

MERCURY HAS BEEN IN OUR EVENING SKY SINCE
THE BEGINNING OF OCTOBER.

IT LL BE AT IT S BRIGHTEST THIS WEEK.

IT WILL THEN BEGIN ITS JOURNEY TOWARD THE
MORNING SKY; PASSING BETWEEN US AND THE SUN

DURING THE LAST WEEK OF NOVEMBER.

JAMES:
AND SPEAKING OF PASSING BETWEEN US AND THE

SUN, MARK YOUR CALENDARS BECAUSE NEXT YEAR,
ON NOVEMBER 11TH, 2019, MERCURY WILL AGAIN

TRANSIT THE SUN!

DEAN:
REMEMBER, YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST ON

STAR GAZERS!

JAMES:
LET S NOW AIM OUR ATTENTION TO THE SOUTH,

SAME NIGHT, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH.

HIGH IN THE SKY, YOU LL SEE THE RED PLANET
MARS.

DEAN:
MARS IS ENTERING THE CONSTELLATION OF AQUARIUS,

THE WATER BEARER, AND YOU LL BE ABLE TO
SEE IT IN THE EVENING SKY UNTIL WELL INTO

NEXT SUMMER!

JAMES:
WE PASSED MARS BACK IN JULY, AND WE WON T

PASS MARS AGAIN FOR ANOTHER 26 MONTHS.

THE NICE THING IS, WE GET TO SEE MARS IN THE
EVENING SKY FOR A FAIRLY LONG TIME SINCE WE RE

TRAVELING IN
THE SAME DIRECTION.

WE RE JUST GOING 10,000 MILES PER HOUR FASTER
THAN MARS, SO WE RE SLOWLY LEAVING

IT BEHIND.

DEAN:
ALRIGHT!

LET S CHECK OUT THE MORNING SKY AND SEE
WHAT AWAITS US THERE!

DEAN:
RISE AND SHINE, JAMES!

IT S 6:00 AM!

JAMES:
WAIT A MINUTE,

I M ALREADY AWAKE.

SHOULDN T I BE WAKING YOU UP?

DEAN:
GOOD POINT.

WELL, ALL NEXT WEEK YOU RE GOING TO HAVE
AN EXCITING REASON FOR GETTING UP WITH THE

CHICKENS, BECAUSE OUR SISTER PLANET VENUS
HAS MADE IT S REAPPEARANCE IN THE MORNING

SKY.

JAMES:
IF THAT WASN T EXCITING ENOUGH, RIGHT NEXT

TO VENUS ALL NEXT WEEK, STARTING ON THE MORNING
OF MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH, VENUS WILL BE IN

CONJUNCTION WITH THE BRIGHT STAR SPICA!

DEAN:
SPICA IS THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE CONSTELLATION

VIRGO THE MAIDEN.

IT S A BLUE GIANT STAR APPROXIMATELY 250
LIGHT YEARS FROM US AND OVER 11 TIMES AS MASSIVE

AS OUR SUN.

JAMES:
SPICA IS THE 16TH BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE SKY,

HOWEVER VENUS WILL TOTALLY OUT SHINE SPICA
ALL NEXT WEEK.

SURPRISINGLY THOUGH,
IF YOU LOOK AT VENUS THROUGH A TELESCOPE,

YOU LL NOTICE IT WILL LOOK LIKE A VERY SLENDER
CRESCENT, MUCH LIKE OUR MOON WHEN IT S IN

THIS PART OF THE MORNING SKY.

DEAN:
EVEN AS A THIN CRESCENT,

VENUS IS DAZZLING!

VENUS REFLECTS ALMOST 70% OF THE SUNLIGHT
THAT HITS IT, THANKS TO ALL IT S CLOUD COVER.

JAMES:
SPEAKING OF CLOUDS, WHERE S JUPITER?

DEAN:
I M GLAD YOU ASKED.

JUPITER IS HEADING BEHIND THE SUN FROM
OUR PERSPECTIVE AND WON T APPEAR IN THE

MORNING SKY UNTIL EARLY DECEMBER.

BUT MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THE MORNING OF
DECEMBER 21ST, THE WINTER SOLSTICE.

JUPITER AND MERCURY WILL HAVE

JAMES:
DON T SAY IT

DEAN: A CONJUNCTION!

JAMES (DANCING):
WOO-HOO!

JAMES:
SO, THERE YOU HAVE IT.

MERCURY, SATURN, THE MOON AND MARS IN THE
SKY AT SUNSET NEXT WEEK

DEAN:
AND THE EVER-DAZZLING VENUS IN THE MORNING

SKY, WITH SPICA
NEXT WEEK.

IT S ALL THERE FOR YOU TO SEE WHEN YOU

BOTH: KEEP LOOKING UP!