The Planets for July 2010

      Returning to the western evening sky, Mercury will be too close to the Sun to be observed at the beginning of July but will distance itself from the Sun a little more each day as the month progresses. By the end of the month it will be setting two hours after the Sun and be easy to see among the stars of Leo. It will be within 5 degrees of the thin crescent Moon on the 12th and 13th and less than one degree from Regulus; Leo's brightest star, over the 27th and 28th of the month. Regulus is a blue-white star and the contrast between the two will be quite apparent with Mercury a dull orange Colour. Think also of the difference in distances between the pair with Regulus 85 light years away and Mercury only around 150 million kilometers away.

  The "Evening Star" is now high in the western sky after sunset in the month of July. Situated among the stars of Leo, it is not setting until three hours after the Sun. On the 10th of the month it will be just over one degree from the Blue-white star Regulus with Venus the far brighter of the pair. The Moon will be close by on the 14th and 15th of July.

   As the planet Mercury crosses into the constellation of Leo on the 20th of July Mars departs Leo and crosses into Virgo where on the 30th it will be less than two degrees to the south of Saturn. High in the north western sky after sunset the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn will be covered by an arc that is less than 27 degrees long.

At around 10:30pm as Saturn is about to set in the west the giant planet Jupiter will be rising above the eastern horizon among the stars of Pisces. It will be accompanied by a companion in the form of Uranus which is never more than three degrees away for the entire month. Although just on the limits of naked eye visibility, Uranus should be easily spotted in a good pair of binoculars. The pair will be visited by the Moon twice this month, on the 4th and on the 31st.

In an ideal location for viewing early this month, Saturn is high in the northern sky early in the evening and not setting until after 11:00pm. However by the end of the month will be setting as early as 9:30pm. Make the most of the ringed planet as by the end of August it will set before 8:00pm. The Moon will be near the planet on the 16th and it will be joined by Mars on the 30th.

5th	12th	18th	26th

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The Planets for August 2010

      Fairly easy to spot in the western twilight sky early in August as Mercury will not set for two hours after the sun. It will be highest in the darkening sky by the 7th of the month after which it will begin its journey back toward the setting sun and will be lost in the twilight sky by the end of the month. The 12th of the month sees it joined by a thin crescent Moon which will be beautifully adorned in earthshine.
  These three planets will really be putting on a show this month. In the western evening sky on the 1st of August, Mars and Saturn are less than 2 degrees apart among the stars of Virgo. On the 8th the pair will be joined by the brilliant Venus and will be contained within a circle of less than 5 degrees with the planet Mercury 18 degrees below them toward the western horizon. At this time the colour difference of the planets should be quite obvious with Mars and Mercury showing an orange tint, Saturn slightly yellow and Venus, brilliant silver. Also on this date the magnitude 8 asteroid Vesta will be 4 degrees to the north west of Saturn for telescopic viewers. The waxing gibbous Moon will join the trio on the 13th and should present as a good photo opportunity. By the 20th Venus and Mars will be less than 2 degrees apart and have moved 10 degrees to the east of Saturn. Venus will be only 1 degree from Spica, Virgo's brightest star, by the end of the month.

High in the north eastern sky after sunset, the giant planet Jupiter is in an ideal location for viewing this month. In the constellation Pisces, it is the brightest object in this part of the sky and really stands out with the circlet of stars marking the head of one of the fish just to the north west of the planet. Sharp eyes will be able to spot the planet Uranus less than 2 degrees to the west of Jupiter at the end of the month. The Moon will be in the vicinity on the 27th.

3rd	10th	17th	25th

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The Planets for September 2010

      The innermost planet passes between the Earth and the Sun on the 3rd of the month and into the morning sky. It reaches its greatest angular distance from the Sun on the 20th of September but because of the angle of the ecliptic it will always be in a bright twilight sky and very hard to observe. (The ecliptic is the apparent path of the Sun projected against the background stars and at times makes a very sharp angle to the horizon). Even though Mercury will be 18 degrees from the Sun on the 20th, because of the sharp angle of the ecliptic on this morning it will rise only 45 minutes before the Sun.

  These two planets will be very close together in the western evening sky for the whole month of September never getting more than 6 and a half degrees from each other. Venus is the far brighter of the two and very easily spotted with its brilliant silver-white colour as opposed to Mars with its faint orange hue. On the 1st Venus will be only 1 degree from Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. The two planets will make a fine sight on the 11th of the month when they are joined by the three day old crescent Moon. On the 25th and 27th of the month the pair will cross from Virgo into Libra where Mars will have a close encounter with Alpha Librae on the 7th of October. The two brightest stars of Libra, Beta Librae (Zubeneschamali, the northern claw) and Alpha Librae (Zubenelgenubi, the southern claw) were once depicted on the ancient star charts as the claws belonging to the constellation, Scorpius.

Rising at 7:20pm as September begins Jupiter will be visible all night long. It will be at its closest point to the Earth on the 21st and on this date the planet Uranus will be less than 1 degree away and very easy to spot even in small telescopes. The full moon will pay it a visit on the 22nd and 23rd of the month. By the end of the month Jupiter will be rising at 5:10pm.

In the western evening sky, at the beginning of September Saturn is setting two hours after the Sun. This is the last chance to observe Saturn this apparition as by the middle of the month it will be lost in the evening twilight and be in conjunction with the Sun on the 1st of October as it returns to the early morning sky.

2nd	8th	15th	23rd

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The Planets for October 2010

      Begins the month in the early morning sky before moving back into the evening sky by the end of the month. It will be in conjunction with the Sun on the 16th of the month and by the 31st only 9 degrees from the sun in the evening sky so will be hard to observe for the whole month.

  Visible in the western sky just after sunset at the beginning of the month. Venus' roll as the "Evening Star" is about to come to an end as it will pass between the Earth and the Sun on the 29th of the month after which it will reappear in the early morning sky once again taking up its roll as the "Morning Star". The thin waxing crescent Moon will join Venus in the sky on the 9th and 10th of October.

  Low in the western evening sky after sunset, Mars will pass just half a degree from Zubenelgenubi (alpha Librae) on the 7th of the month. The difference in the colours of the two objects should be apparent with their close proximity to each other. Mars is the more orange of the two. Zubenelgenubi is actually a double star consisting of a blue-white sun with a white companion. Both components of the star can be seen with a pair of binoculars or a small telescope. Although this star has been assigned the Greek letter Alpha, usually associated with the brightest star of any constellation, it is actually the second brightest star in Libra with Beta Librae being the brighter of the two.

Rising at 5:00pm, Jupiter is visible all night long among the stars of Pisces. It lies just south of the small circlet of stars depicting the head of one of the fish and is the brightest object in this neighborhood. The planet Uranus is just 1 and a half degrees from Jupiter at the beginning of the month and just visible to the naked eye on a moonless night and away from the town lights. Medium sized telescopes will show the blue-green disc of Uranus.

  Not visible this month as it passes behind the Sun on the 1st of the month and will not be observable again until late in November when it can be found in the early morning sky.

1st	8th	15th	23th	30th

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