So Long Saturn, June is for Jupiter

Way back in the fall of 2005, Mars was spectacular in the evening sky. Now, it’s just a faint, pink dot low in the west-northwest after sunset. It will be much easier to find on the evening of June 17 because Saturn will be shining nearby. Both planets will require some effort to find as they are soon to be setting with the Sun and lost in the glow of twilight.

Even though they will be gone, they are not easily forgotten. In fact, armchair astronomers can explore Mars and Saturn from the air-conditioned, bug-free confines of home using the internet. Those robust rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, continue their adventures on Mars. You can get all the latest details at their website http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov. As of this writing, Spirit is hunkering down for another long, cold Martian winter. Meanwhile, Opportunity’s wheels dug into loose soil during a drive on sol 833 (May 29, 2006). Can it escape? Log on to find out what happens.

In addition to the rovers, there are FOUR active spacecraft in orbit at Mars. Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) arrived in 1997; Mars Odyssey in 2001; Mars Express in 2003, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) in 2006. MRO is currently aerobraking through Mars’ atmosphere to finalize its orbit. In addition to relaying information from the rovers on the surface, each of the orbiters are performing a great variety of scientific studies. There is a tremendous amount of news at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov.

Less publicized but just as exciting are the activities of the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn. Cassini is conducting a VERY detailed survey of Saturn and its moons. Of special interest is Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Upon arrival at Saturn in 2004, the Huygens probe was released so that it could descend through Titan’s thick atmosphere and discover what lies beneath that murky haze. To see some incredible images and follow the mission’s progress go to saturn.jpl.nasa.gov.

If you do want to get out and see a real planet, Jupiter (bet you thought we’d never get to it) is THE bright star in the southern sky after the Sun goes down. It practically grabs your attention. Of course, an easy way to tell the difference between the stars and the planets is to remember that usually, stars twinkle, while planets don’t. That, and Jupiter is the brightest thing visible in the night sky right now, except for the Moon.

Through binoculars, Jupiter will appear as a bright white disk. Look carefully, and you might be able to see as many as four tiny dots close to the disk of the planet. These are four of Jupiter’s largest moons, called the Galilean satellites because they were first observed by Galileo way back in 1610. In fact, your binocular view is similar to what Galileo would have seen almost four hundred years ago. Try watching those moons carefully over the course of several nights, and you can watch them change position as they orbit around Jupiter.

A completely different Galileo took a close up look at Jupiter from 1995 to 2003. The Galileo spacecraft (galileo.jpl.nasa.gov) orbited the giant planet observing its atmosphere, the rings, and its dozens of moons. Unfortunately, the spacecraft’s high gain antenna did not fully deploy, drastically lowering the amount of data it could send back to Earth. Even so, Galileo returned the most stunning and detailed views we have of the largest planet in our solar system.

Nine Planets and Counting

How many planets are there in our solar system? Nine, right? Or is it eight? Maybe it’s ten, or twelve, or more. And just what IS a planet, anyway? These are questions that have been on our minds lately, because the staff of the Sudekum Planetarium has just completed production of a new, original program called - you guessed it - Nine Planets And Counting.

This new show not only explores the planets in our neighborhood, it addresses that nagging question of just how many ‘planets’ there are in the solar system. With the discovery of new and bigger objects out beyond Neptune, it seems that this conundrum is on many people’s minds - old and young alike.

So how many planets are there? Take our tour of our solar system, and see for yourself. The answer may surprise you.

Spring Star Parties

The next FREE public star party is scheduled for Saturday, August 12, 2006 from 8:30 - 10:30 pm at the Special Events Field at Edwin Warner Park. Members of the Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society (BSAS) will provide telescopes and commentary on the Moon, planets, and other objects that might be visible. Mark your calendar, and hope for clear skies!