Space and astronomy news
Where have all the planets gone? The end of February 2018 sees the three naked eye outer planets – Mars, Jupiter and Saturn– hiding in the dawn. It takes an extra effort to brave the chill of a February morning, for sure. The good news is, the two inner planets – Mercury and Venus – begin favorable dusk apparitions this week, putting on a fine sunset showing in March.
Wondering where are the fleeting inner solar system planets are this month?
While Jupiter and Saturn sink into the dusk on the far side of the Sun this month, the real action transpires in the dawn sky in mid-September, with a complex set of early morning conjunctions, groupings and occultations.
‘Tis the season… eclipse season, that is, as an annular solar eclipse marks the end of the first cycle of two for 2017. And although the annular path for this eclipse passes some sparsely populated parts of the southern hemisphere, we just might get some amazing live views, courtesy of modern technology and some intrepid observers willing to adventure trek after the shadow of the Moon.
Ask anyone, “what color is the Sun”? and they’ll tell you the obvious answer: it’s yellow. But is it really? Please don’t go check, it’s not safe to look directly at the Sun with your unprotected eyes. From our perspective it does look a little yellow, especially after sunrise or shortly before sunset, But don’t …