MOON CONJUNCTION JUNCTION
DEAN:
HEY THERE STARGAZERS, I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER
FOR THE CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY.
JAMES:
AND IM JAMES ALBURY DIRECTOR OF THE KIKA SILVA
PLA PLANETARIUM
IN GAINESVILLE,
FLORIDA AND WERE HERE TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR
WAY AROUND THE SKY.
DEAN:
LONG-TIME STAR GAZERS OUT THERE MAY KNOW THAT
JAMES GETS VERY EXCITED DURING CONJUNCTIONS.
AND HE AUTOMATICALLY STARTS DANCING.
JAMES:
WHENEVER THE MOON APPEARS NEXT TO
A PLANET,
OR TWO OR MORE PLANETS COME TOGETHER,
IT'S CALLED A CONJUNCTION.
AND THESE ARE SUCH EXCITING ASTRONOMICAL ALIGNMENTS
THAT I JUST CAN'T HELP MYSELF.
DEAN:
AND WITH THAT INFORMATION,
AND THE DREADED ANTICIPATION OF THE DANCE
PARTIES TO COME, I HESITATE TO EVEN MENTION
THIS BUT
JAMES:
YES???
DEAN:
OVER THE PERIOD OF
TWO SHORT WEEKS,
THE MOON WILL APPROACH ALL FIVE OF THE NAKED-EYE
PLANETS.
JAMES:
YOU MEAN ?
DEAN:
YES, THE MOON WILL
PASS NEAR MERCURY,
VENUS, JUPITER,
SATURN, AND FINALLY
JAMES:
MARS!
DEAN:
YEP.
THAT'S FIVE CONJUNCTIONS BETWEEN
OH MY, WELL
LET'S HEAD TO THE SKY...
DEAN:
OH GOOD, YOU'RE ALIVE!
JAMES:
OF COURSE,
I'M NOT GOING TO LET
A LITTLE SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION GET IN
THE WAY OF SEEING THE FIVE CONJUNCTIONS BETWEEN
JULY 14TH
AND 27TH.
DEAN:
EXCELLENT!
LETS START ON JULY 14TH FOR CONJUNCTION #1.
THIS WILL BE THE TOUGHEST OF THE FIVE SINCE
WERE DEALING WITH MERCURY HERE.
MERCURY NEVER STRAYS FAR FROM THE SUN AND
SO YOU CAN ONLY
SEE IT JUST,
AND I MEAN JUST
AFTER SUNSET.
JAMES:
LOOK WEST AS THE SUN DIPS BELOW THE HORIZON
FOR THE SLIMMEST CRESCENT MOON
YOU'LL EVER SEE.
JUST BELOW IT IS
A TINY DOT.
THAT DOT IS THE
PLANET MERCURY.
DEAN:
CONJUNCTION #2 WILL OCCUR ON THE VERY
NEXT NIGHT.
JULY 15TH JUST AFTER SUNSET THE MOON WILL
APPROACH THE DAZZLING PLANET VENUS.
JAMES:
VENUS AND THE MOON MAKE A LOVELY PAIR
IN THE TWILIGHT.
BUT KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THEM BECAUSE AS THE
NIGHT ROLLS ON,
AND THE SUN SETS
IN THE WEST,
THE MOON WILL GET EVEN CLOSER TO VENUS BEFORE
THEY BOTH GO BELOW THE HORIZON.
DEAN:
NOW WERE FACING SOUTHWEST AT 10:30PM AND YOU
CANT MISS SPOTTING JUPITER ABOUT HALFWAY UP
IN THE SKY.
IT IS INCREDIBLY BRIGHT!
JUPITER IS BY FAR THE LARGEST PLANET IN OUR
SOLAR SYSTEM AND SHINES LIKE A STEADY, CREAM-COLORED
STAR.
JAMES:
LET'S ADVANCE OUR TIME, DAY BY DAY,
NIGHT BY NIGHT.
ON JULY 16TH
17TH
AND 18TH
THE MOON STARTS APPEARING CLOSER
TO JUPITER.
ON JULY 19TH, ITS CLOSER STILL.
AND
DEAN:
I FEEL A CONJUNCTION
#3 COMING ON!
JAMES:
ON JULY 20TH,
WE'VE GOT A CONJUNCTION!
DEAN:
SO COOL!
NOW I KNOW THE MOON AND JUPITER LOOK LIKE
THEY'RE CLOSE TOGETHER.
BUT THE MOON IS ABOUT 240,000 MILES
FROM EARTH,
WHILE JUPITER IS A WHOPPING 465 MILLION MILES
AWAY.
DEAN:
OKAY, TWO MORE CONJUNCTIONS TO GO.
WE'RE FACING SOUTH
AT 11:30PM.
JAMES:
THE FAINTER OF THE
TWO PLANETS IN THIS PART OF THE SKY IS ON
THE RIGHT.
IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE A STEADY, YELLOW-COLORED
STAR.
IF IT WASN'T ALMOST
850 MILLION MILES AWAY IT WOULD EASILY OUTSHINE
ANY OTHER PLANET.
DEAN:
THIS FAR-FLUNG PLANET
IS SATURN.
AND IT MAY NOT LOOK LIKE MUCH TO THE NAKED
EYE, BUT IT LOOKS UNBELIEVABLY AWESOME IN
A TELESCOPE.
JAMES:
DEAN IS SO EXCITED TO SEE SATURN THAT HE ALMOST
DANCES!
DEAN:
IF WE ADVANCE THE DATE TO JULY 24TH THE MOON
COZIES UP NEXT
TO SATURN.
JAMES:
SO THAT LEAVES CONJUNCTION #5.
DEAN:
YES, AND FOR THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT THAT
BRIGHT, REDDISH LIGHT IN THE SOUTHEAST.
ITS BRIGHTER THAN MERCURY.
BRIGHTER THAN SATURN.
BRIGHTER THAN EVEN JUPITER RIGHT NOW.
IT IS THE PLANET MARS.
JAMES:
MARS IS MAKING ITS CLOSEST APPROACH TO EARTH
ON JULY 27,
AND THAT MEANS ALL
THIS MONTH AND NEXT MONTH,
IT WILL LOOK SUPER-BRIGHT IN THE SKY.
DEAN:
I'M GLAD YOU MENTIONED JULY 27 BECAUSE ON
THAT NIGHT
JAMES:
NO WAY!
DEAN:
YES WAY!
THE FULL MOON SLIDES OVER AND WILL BE JUST
ABOVE THE RED PLANET.
JAMES:
SO NOT ONLY WILL MARS BE AT ITS BRIGHTEST,
IT WILL HAVE THE FULL MOON NEARBY.
DEAN:
YES SIR!
DEAN:
SO THAT'S FIVE
MOON-PLANET CONJUNCTIONS IN
13 NIGHTS OF VIEWING.
THE MOON TOUR PASSES BY MERCURY ON JULY 14
JAMES:
VENUS ON JULY 15
DEAN:
JUPITER ON JULY 20
JAMES:
SATURN ON JULY 24...
DEAN:
AND MARS ON JULY 27.
AND YOU CAN SEE IT ALL WHEN YOU
BOTH:
KEEP LOOKING UP!