Every so often it seems the planetary action clumps together. I recall many moons ago when my friend Herman Heyn was doing his sidewalk astronomy gig very routinely that he found a few winters to be challenging to pique citizen interest. Of course being in the heart of light polluted Baltimore made things like the Orion Nebula or Seven Sisters seem a little drab. Compared to Saturn and its rings or Jupiter and its moons, the wow factor just isn't there.
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| The Family Poses on August 6, 2018 |
We're approaching that alignment again as Jupiter gradually catches up to Saturn. Two years from now the two superstar ambassadors to amateur astronomy will be huddled together amid the stars of Sagittarius. They'll also be relatively low in the sky for us mid-latitude northern observers, but that won't keep their fans from trying to catch a glimpse of them.
As Labor Day is in our rear view mirror I have to admit that this summer we had a great Solar System family gathering in the evening skies. There was brilliant Venus in the western sky, moving from gibbous to crescent phase all the while maintaining her cloudy veil. Not the best of evening elongations as the western ecliptic lies close to the horizon this time of year, but always a dazzling jewel that is worth visiting and pondering this hellish world - like a scientific experiment gone bad.
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| Jupiter and GRS in 6" f/8 Reflector July 29, 2018 |
Next came king Jupiter. This is my favorite planet - not only due to its ample size but especially due to its changing nature. On any given night you might catch a shadow transit on the cloud tops, or the Great Red Spot (which has definitely shrunk but also become a bit ruddier in complexion) staring back at you. Cloud bands with delicate features also await the patient observer or videographer. One evening after having chased down down M104 in my 80mm scope I decided to end with Jupiter to see what the little refractor could do. Cranking up the power with an 8mm TMB Planetary eyepiece + 2x Meade Barlow I was delighted to clearly make out the GRS moving towards the preceding (setting) limb as well as a black pencil point on the clouds betraying Io's presence as it cut across the disk. Old Jove - always the showman.
A couple hours east was full-tilt Saturn, rings wide open as the northern hemisphere has its maximum solar exposure. As he ambles towards Pisces over the next 7 years the rings will gradually fold up until they are razor thin. But for this summer they were in their full glory like a preening peacock - Cassini's division obvious, shadow play on globe and rings creating that wonderful depth of field sensation, tiny moons gathered around the globe. And subtle but evident clouds gradually darkening towards the pole. What's not to love about this view?
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| Mars on Aug 23, 2018 |
And finally, bursting onto the stage beyond Saturn was Mars - back with a vengeance from its roughly two year hiatus, sporting a good size disk that we won't see again until (yikes!) 2035. Even with the poorly timed arrival of a global Martian dust storm it still was enticing to see the polar caps and fuzzy albedo markings on the red one. Mars takes magnification well due to its brightness, so you mainly need some patience and steady skies to begin to see some details. Playing around with filters is also enjoyable to see what additional features you might tease out in the different light. While the show's not quite over, for this orb the motto is definitely Carpe Noctum.
