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!