do
a busy day in the sky at the end of
August
their stargazers and Denarius astronomer
for the Cincinnati Observatory
and I'm James all buried director the
key cassava pop planetarium in
Gainesville Florida
we're here to help you find your way
around sky tonight
the mooncake lips the Sun but can it go
in front of a planet
you bet it can we don't call this an
eclipse it's an
Arkle tation they are so rare that I've
seen way more eclipses than Arkle
tations
on August 31st the moon will appear near
mars
and Saturn the moon is close to covering
a planet
but not quite but earlier in the day on
August 31st
you just may see the moon a cold one of
those planets
which one and how can you maybe possibly
see if you're really lucky
let's show you okay we have our sky set
for Monday August 25th at 9:15 p.m.
facing southwest two bright stars only
about 20 degrees above the horizon
should grab your attention
they will appear almost equal in
brightness but look closely
there different colors Mars is the lower
or injure one
and Saturn is the higher yellow or one
although they appear close together
Mars and Saturn are really far from
earth and from each other
marches over 120 million miles from us
and Saturn is over 940 million miles
away notice there's another bright star
low in the West that Speicher the
brightest star in the constellation
Virgo the maiden
now look what happens when we advance
the time day by day
here's the 26th the 27th the twenty 8
each night the planet spread out a
little more
and spiky gets lower in the sky then
here is August 29th at 9:15 p.m.
Wow the slender waxing crescent moon is
right next to spike a
now let's go forward to august thirtieth
the moon is lit up a little more
and closer to our planet's and here is
August 31st
cool that'll definitely be a nice sight
to see
but the moon didn't block out any
planetary light
or did it it did but it happened earlier
in the day
like an eclipse to see the moon occult a
planet you have to be at the right place
at the right time in this case were
watching the sky from Washington DC at
one o'clock in the afternoon
the waxing crescent moon has just risen
in the eastern sky
will be very low in the sky and tough to
see through the glow
daytime but what's deemed down the glare
of the Sun
and zoom in with the telescope to see
what's happened just to the left to the
moon
we can see the unmistakable shape my
favorite bring planet
Satter now let's advanced time minute by
minute
at about 1:15 p.m. the moon will slide
in front of Saturn
first blocking out wanna side of the
Rings then
the planet then the other side the Rings
proof
saturns got but not for long the moon
will continue to shift in its
orbit around the Earth and after less
than an hour pop
Saturn will pop its rings out the other
side
that is an occultation now
I know what you're thinking that I want
some M&M's now you're always thinking
that
what you're thinking is how can you see
all this in the daytime
kayak how can I see all this in the
daytime you
probably can't but is possible if you
have a telescope
and you have amazingly clear skies low
in the east
you can find planets in the day time
with the telescope if you know where to
look
the daytime moon is a huge help aimed
the telescope at the moon and fish
around for the plant
then you might be wondering do I have to
be in Washington DC to see this
no you may technically be able see this
from most locations in the eastern third
of the US
in Gainesville all be able see the whole
thing if the clouds cooperate miami
florida is in a good shape to see it too
noticed the different path that Saturn
takes behind the moon
Miami Washington in Cincinnati
from Cincinnati Ohio it's tougher but
possible
but from saint louis Salt Lake City in
Seattle
sorry your at a block no matter where
you live
check out the skies at the end of August
for are two planets
mars and Saturn and look for the moon
join in the fun on August 31st
it's all there when you keep looking up
me