NASA is urging star watchers to enjoy this moon’s giants night – the massive planets Jupiter and Saturn will appear in the night sky in the coming weeks.
In the early hours of the night, you will find them in the southeast, slowly moving west with the stars throughout the night.
“They form a triangle with the bright star Fomalhaut,” the US space agency explains on its website.
Looking at the trio, notice how the planets glow with constant light, while the stars shine. This can be an easy way to tell if what you are looking for is a planet or a star.
Late last month, astronomers revealed that Jupiter would appear at its largest and brightest moment in decades, as it approached the closest point to Earth in 59 years.
It’s still about 367 million miles from us, but since October 1963, star watchers have had a great chance to see them in the night sky.
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To seek! NASA is urging star watchers to enjoy this moon’s giants night – the massive planets Jupiter and Saturn will appear in the night sky in the coming weeks. “They form a triangle with the bright star Fomalhaut,” the US space agency explains on its website.
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Astronomers may also be able to observe Mars’ backward motion this month. The sky chart above shows the path of the Red Planet for several months in 2022 and 2023 as it enters and then exits, in a backward motion.
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Buyer: the basics
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in our solar system.
It is a large ball of gas composed mainly of hydrogen and helium with some heavy elements.
“Jupiter’s familiar stripes and eddies are actually storm clouds of cold ammonia and water, floating in an atmosphere of hydrogen and helium,” NASA said.
“The Great Red Spot of Jupiter is a giant storm larger than Earth and has been erupting for hundreds of years.”
This planet is twice the size of the other planets combined, and the Great Red Spot alone is large enough to house the entire Earth within it.
A spacecraft, NASA’s Juno orbiter, is currently exploring this gigantic world.
facts and figures
distance from the sun: 750 million km
orbit: 12 years
surface: 61.42 billion square kilometers
radius: 69.911 km
Mass: 1.898 x 10 ^ 27 kg (317.8 m3)
Duration of the day: 0d 9h 56m
moon: 53 with official name; Unlimited additional satellites
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The gas giant approached the Earth almost 60 years ago, on September 25, and after 24 hours it reached the opposition, which means that the planet appeared opposite to the Sun compared to that on Earth.
The closest approach to the planet from Earth rarely matches the opposition, which according to NASA means that this year’s sightings will be “notable”.
The overlap between the two events, which will no longer occur until the year 2139, means that Jupiter will appear brighter and larger in the sky in the coming weeks.
When it comes to other celestial sightings this month, Mars continues to move east throughout the year as usual, relative to the stars in the background.
But in late October, the red planet stopped this apparent movement and then appeared to reverse direction.
For the next three months, from November to late January, the planet moves west each night, then reverses direction again towards the end of January and continues its journey east.
NASA claims this is the so-called retrograde motion of Mars.
“It happens every two years and has thrown the first observers into a vicious circle,” the US space agency wrote.
It seems that the change of direction of Mars is an illusion caused by the movement of our planet in its orbit, passing the red planet in its orbit.
Earth and Mars are on an almost circular path around the sun, like a car on a track, but our planet Earth is on the fastest inner path.
About every 26 months we pass by Mars, which moves more slowly in its orbit. During the time we pass in front of Mars, and before turning in orbit to move away from it, we see Mars retreat and seemingly change direction, although it continues to advance in its orbit.
Amateur astronomers were asked to record how the position of Mars relative to Betelgeuse, Aldebaran and the Pleiades has changed over the weeks.
“You’ll see what was once a source of intense curiosity for astronomers, but now we know it’s just a sign of two planets passing by at night,” added NASA.
Late last month, astronomers revealed that Jupiter would appear at its largest and brightest moment in decades, as it approached the closest point to Earth in 59 years.
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Stars: In the early hours of the night, you will find Jupiter and Saturn (shown) in the southeastern sky, slowly moving west with the stars throughout the night
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The Orionid meteor is also active throughout October and November, peaking on the night of October 20.
It is moderate rainfall, typically producing 10-20 meteors per hour at its peak, under clear, dark skies.
The bad news is that the moon will be 20% full on peak nights this year, so it can be a little annoying at sunrise two hours before sunrise.
However, it shouldn’t be an eyesore completely.
The name of the shower comes from the fact that it is possible to trace its meteor trail in areas of the sky near Orion.
This meteorite is a piece of dust left by Halley’s Comet on a path that extends along its orbit. They tend to be bright and fast moving, often leaving a trail of static electricity that can glow in the sky for a few seconds after passing them.
No special equipment is required to monitor meteor showers.
Make sure you are warm enough and that you are looking from a safe, dark place away from bright light. So all you have to do is find and enjoy the show, “the US space agency said.
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