Sky Almanac

Every month in 2012 there are wonderful sights to see in the sky above.

May 2012

Venus alone in the west
Venus stands alone in the west, at near maximum brightness of –4.4. It is on the way out of the evening sky and into the morning sky.  It will transition in style next month.

Jupiter has retreated below the horizon by mid month, too close to the Sun to be seen.

Over in the southeastern sky at sunset is Saturn, while Mars is due south and higher in the sky. Both Mars and Saturn are the same brightness tonight.

Isn’t this the month that the jokers, pranksters, shyster and their minions of village idiots pounding away blogs of nonsense said the world would end?  Use your common sense as a filter.  Don’t be a dummy.

June 2012

Next chance is in the year 2117
WARNING!  NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN WITH ANY OPTICAL INSTRUMENT. PERMANENT LOSS OF EYESIGHT IS POSSIBLE.

With that said, a telescopes with a quality FULL APATURE SOLAR FILTER placed in FRONT of the main lens BEFORE any sunlight enter the telescope are regular used by amateur and professional astronomer around the world. These Solar Filters reject 99.99% of the sunlight before entering the telescope; this includes light in the Ultraviolet and Infrared wavelength. Don’t be a dummy protection is a requirement.

Has it been 8 years since the black disc of Venus transit the Sun?  It will happen again before sunset on June 5, 2012.  It should be all over the news and streaming live on the Internet. Locally the Sun will set while the transit is in progress. Eight years ago the sun rose with the transit in progress. We watched the planet Venus exit the limb of the Sun. This time we will see Venus enter into transit. How will we watch this event in the 22^nd century?

Now it’s time for Mercury to take center stage in the western sky. As Venus was setting, Mercury was rising. A two-day-old crescent Moon will help find this planet on the 21^st of June. Look for Mercury some 7 degrees to the upper right of the Moon.

July 2012

Jupiter and Venus step in time, the Moon joins Mars and Saturn       
After dancing around in the west early this year, Jupiter and Venus now appear to move together as one for about two weeks, Jupiter then pulls away quickly out in front. There will be a striking sight on the morning of the 21^st of July.  The crescent Moon will be 3.5 degrees between Jupiter and Venus, creating a tight isosceles triangle in the sky. What a eye appealing sight this will be in the morning sky.

The Moon, Mars and Saturn will create two different types of triangular arrangements. First on the evening of 24^th of July, the Moon, this time a fat crescent phase, is 5 degrees to the left Mars. The next evening, 25^th of July, the moon is 8 degrees from Saturn. The bright star Spica is located inside the triangle created by the Moon, Saturn and Mars.

August 2012

Morning and Night Sights
The Perseid Meteor Shower will have favorable dark skies for most of the event. Peak night is the evening of August 11, morning of August 12, 2012.  Don’t fall asleep, with luck up to 50 meteors per hour can be seen by one person at the peak. With lots a lot of dead time between meteors. That’s the way it goes.  Look in the east for two planets before sunrise.

The mid month of August is a busy one in the morning and evening skies. Starting in the morning on the 11^th of August, the near half moon will be 5 degrees higher from Jupiter. Watch for the next 3 days as Jupiter, the Moon and Venus line up in a straight line. Moon passes Jupiter on the 12^th   of August. Moon close to Venus on the 13^th of August. Moon passes Venus on the 14^th of August.

Switching to the evening sky for the same time period August 11- 21, 2012 planet Saturn is doing a close slow dance around Mars. Close as 2.7 degrees on the evening of the 15^th of August. The crescent moon joins this party on the 21^st and 22^nd of August.

September 2012

Almost an Occultation
The morning of the 8^th of September finds the 3^rd Quarter Moon below the planet Jupiter.  They are just about 1 degree apart. That is a very close pairing, just two lunar diameters.

The moon and Venus are side-by-side and 4 degrees apart on the 12^th of September in the morning sky.

Now in the evening sky on the 19^th of September we find the crescent Moon one degree from Mars.

October 2012

Slow down
October is a slower pace, just one good match up of the crescent Moon and Venus on the morning October 12.  Venus will be at –4.1 magnitude and 6.5 degrees to the left of the moon.

November 2012

Pick up the pace
On the 2^nd day of November Jupiter is 1.5 degrees north of a Moon that is 2 days past full phase in the eastern sky.  The orange colored star Aldebaran is 7 degrees on the right. Later on, the crescent moon will pass by Venus in the morning on the 11 of November.

The big show is in the morning sky on the 27^th of November. Jupiter and Venus are separated by only 45 arc minutes. Watch them move towards each other starting on the 21^st of November.

On the evening of the 28^th day of November, Jupiter is 1.2 degrees north of the Full Moon. The orange colored star Aldebaran is 4 degrees to the right of the Moon.

December 2012

End of Year – Still here
The morning sky is where you will see a crescent Moon sliding past planet Saturn on the 10^th of December. The following night the moon is close to Venus. To find Mercury draw a line extended from Saturn to Venus.

Christmas night, and who are together again. That’s right, Jupiter and the Moon, are separated by 1 degree, the Moon is 3 days before Full phase. This is the third consecutive time the two have been so closer than 1 degree apart.