Abrams Planetarium
Night Sky Notes

The Night Sky Notes is a place on our web site that we use to keep skywatchers up to date on what's up in the sky. Check back often to find out what's new and visible in our ever changing sky. As we learn about something new, we'll post it to this page as soon as we can. If you like to subscribe to news feeds, click the RSS link below. The posts will automatically show up in your news aggregator or feed reader.

If you would like more detailed information including star charts, check out our Sky Calendar. For just $11.00 per year, you'll get 12 issues mailed to you. Proceeds from the Sky Calendar help support the Abrams Planetarium and Night Sky Notes.

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Monday, November 23, 2009
A wide crescent Moon is above Jupiter. Look for Jupiter and the Moon in the south at dusk. Aim a telescope at Jupiter to see its 4 Galilean moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

Sunday, November 22, 2009
Mars is 15° west of the star Regulus. Mars rises about 5 hours after sunset and is high in the SSW by morning twilight. Mars will continue to move towards Regulus until it starts its retrograde motion on December 21.

Saturday, November 21, 2009
Venus and Saturn are 45° apart. Look for Venus very low in the ESE, 45 minutes before sunrise. Saturn is to the upper right of Venus. Saturn's rings are tilted 4° from edgewise.

Friday, November 20, 2009
The four day old crescent Moon is in the southwest at dusk. A crescent Moon makes a wonderful sight in a small telescope. Explore the Moon near the terminator. The terminator is the line that separates the light and dark halves of the Moon. Near the terminator, many craters and mountains can be found.

Thursday, November 19, 2009
The crescent Moon is low in the southwest. As the sky darkens, look for "the old Moon in the young moon's arms" also known as earthshine. Earthshine is the faint light illuminating the dark side of the Moon. It is caused by sunlight reflecting off the Earth, onto the Moon, and back to the Earth.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The young crescent Moon is low in the southwest, 45 minutes after sunset. The Moon is less than 5% illuminated. You will need a clear view to the horizon. Binoculars may help.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The Leonid meteor shower may have an large outburst in the predawn hours. Leonids seem to radiate from the constellation of Leo the Lion, but the shooting stars can be seen in all directions. Mars is 16° to the west of the star Regulus in Leo.

Monday, November 16, 2009
The Leonid meteor shower may have an outburst in the predawn hours of the 17th. Watch for Leonids this evening and into the next morning. The Leonid shower varies quite a bit from one year to the next. This year could have a peak of 500 meteors per hour. The Moon is New, leaving the sky darker, better for meteor watching.

Sunday, November 15, 2009
Mira, the long term variable star, is near its peak brightness. Mira, also known as Omicron Ceti, is part of the constellation Cetus the Whale. At its brightest, Mira is a 3rd magnitude star. As its dimmest, it's about 9th magnitude. The star takes 332 days to cycle through one period. In September of 2009, observers reported Mira at 9th magnitude, visible only with a telescope. Now reports show it at 3.3 magnitude, easily visible with the unaided eye. Look for Mira low in the ESE at dusk and half way up in the south six hours after sunset.

Saturday, November 14, 2009
The old thin crescent Moon is low in the ESE dawn sky. Look an hour before sunrise. The star Spica is to the upper left of the Moon. Venus is to the lower left of the Moon.

Friday, November 13, 2009
The thin crescent Moon is below Saturn and to the upper right of Spica. Look for the thin Moon and earthshine. Earthshine is the faint glow that illuminates the dark side of the Moon. Look for the Moon and Saturn an hour before sunrise in the ESE sky.

Thursday, November 12, 2009
The crescent Moon is near Saturn. Venus is 34° to the lower left of Saturn. Look for the Moon, Saturn and Venus an hour before sunrise. Venus will be very low, near the ESE horizon.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The Northern Taurid meteor shower peaks overnight. The Northern Taurids are a long lasting shower, going from October 12 to December 2 with the peak tonight. Don't expect a lot of meteors, but if you see one and it seems to be coming from the constellation of Taurus the Bull, it's most likely a Northern Taurid meteor.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The waning crescent Moon is close to the star Regulus in Leo the Lion. Mars is 19° to the northwest of Regulus. Look for Mars, Regulus and the Moon in the morning sky, high in the south.

Monday, November 9, 2009
The Last Quarter Moon is southeast of Mars. The Moon and Mars are high in the south at dawn. Jupiter is easily visible in the evening sky. Look to the south an hour after sunset for Jupiter.

Sunday, November 8, 2009
The waning gibbous Moon is west of Mars and southeast of the twin stars, Castor and Pollux. Venus is 30° to the lower left of Venus. Look for Venus low in the ESE dawn sky.

Saturday, November 7, 2009
The waning gibbous Moon is near the twin stars, Castor and Pollux. Exploring the Moon with binoculars reveals the three craters, Theophilus, Cyrillus and Catharina. These three craters form a remarkable trio. Each crater is about 60 miles in diameter. Apollo 11 landed about 200 miles north of the trio.

Friday, November 6, 2009
Mars is 20° west of Regulus in Leo the Lion. Watch Mars move closer to Regulus for the next several weeks. Mars will be 10° west of the star on December 21st when it starts its retrograde motion. Mars is high in the south at dawn.

Thursday, November 5, 2009
Mercury is at superior conjunction and cannot be seen. Mercury will pass directly behind the Sun today. The swift moving planet will join the evening sky in December.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Neptune ends its retrograde motion. Look for Neptune with a telescope. It's 5.7° to the ENE of Jupiter and 2.2° NNW of the star Delta Capricorni. On December 20th, Jupiter will pass just ½° south of Neptune. Neptune is very dim, only 8th magnitude.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Venus passes 3.5° north of the the star Spica. Look low in the ESE an hour before sunrise. Late in the evening, the Full Moon passes over the Pleiades star cluster. Look with binoculars to see the Moon occult the stars.

Monday, November 2, 2009
Venus and Mars are 75° apart. Venus and Saturn are 25° apart. All three are part of the morning sky. Look to the ESE for Venus. Saturn is to the upper right of Venus. Mars is near overhead in the constellation of Cancer the Crab. Next summer, these three planets will be part of the evening sky.

Sunday, November 1, 2009
Venus is 4° to the upper right of the star Spica. Look for Venus in the morning sky, low in the ESE. Mars is in the Beehive cluster. Look for Mars high over head in the south at dawn.

Saturday, October 31, 2009
Mars is closely west of the Beehive star cluster. Look for Mars in the high in the sky at dawn. Mars is now rising around midnight. The red planet is currently 110 million miles from Earth. Be on the lookout this evening for Martians, knocking on doors, looking for candy.

Friday, October 30, 2009
The star Spica is 6° to the lower right of Venus. Look low in the ESE 45 minutes before sunrise. Next week, Venus will pass Spica.

Thursday, October 29, 2009
Mars is just west of the Beehive star cluster, M-44. Watch Mars move closer to the cluster over the next few days. Mars will pass through the cluster on November 1st. The Beehive is in the constellation of Cancer the Crab.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Saturn is 30° to the lower left of the star Regulus in Leo the Lion. Venus is 17° to the lower left of Saturn. Look to the ESE sky at dawn for Venus. Mars is 24° to the upper right of Regulus.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The crater Copernicus is easily visible near the lunar terminator. Copernicus stands out as a big deep crater in an otherwise smooth area of the Moon. Look for this 60 mile diameter crater with a small telescope. The waxing gibbous Moon is to the upper left of Jupiter in the SSE evening sky.

Monday, October 26, 2009
The waxing gibbous moon is to the upper right of Jupiter. Look to the SSE sky at dusk. A telescope aimed at the Moon shows the Straight Wall. The Straight Wall appears as a dark line on the Moon. It's a 70 mile long fault line formed from a moonquake in the ancient past.

Sunday, October 25, 2009
Mars is about 3° west of the Beehive star cluster. This week, watch Mars move closer to the cluster. By the end of the week Mars will be within the Beehive. Look for the cluster with binoculars in the faint constellation of Cancer the Crab.

Saturday, October 24, 2009
Jupiter is shining bright in the SSE sky at dusk. Mars, Saturn and Venus are part of the morning sky. Venus is low in the ESE at dawn. Saturn is 12° to the upper right of Venus. Mars is high in the dawn sky in the constellation of Cancer the Crab.

Friday, October 23, 2009
The waxing crescent Moon is in the southwest evening sky. Look at the Moon with a telescope to see Theophilus Crater. Theophilus is 60 miles in diameter and 2.5 miles deep. A 4600 foot mountain peak is at its center.

Thursday, October 22, 2009
Saturn is 10° to the upper right of Venus. Look to the ESE 45 minutes before sunrise.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009
The Orionid meteor shower peaks in the early morning hours. Look for shooting stars this morning and the next morning. Orionids are caused by left over bits of Halley's Comet. The shower last for a few days peaking on the morning of the 21st.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009
A thin crescent Moon is low in the southwest after sunset. The Moon is to the lower right of the star Antares. The waxing Moon will set about an hour after the Sun.

Monday, October 19, 2009
Mercury, Venus and Saturn span 16° across the morning sky. Look to the east 45 minutes before sunrise. Mercury is very low in the east. Later this week Mercury will leave the morning sky and move behind the Sun. Mercury will reappear in the evening sky in December. Venus will remain part of the morning sky until early December.

Sunday, October 18, 2009
Saturn is 6° above and to the right of Venus. Mercury is about 9° below Venus and to the left. Look 45 minutes before sunrise in the east.

Saturday, October 17, 2009
Saturn is 4.5° above Venus. Mercury is 8° below Venus. The very old crescent Moon is below and to the right of Mercury and may be seen by observers in the southeast, 25 minutes before sunrise.

Friday, October 16, 2009
The old crescent Moon is to the right of Venus. Look to the east 45 minutes before sunrise for the thin crescent. Saturn is 3.4° above Venus. Mercury is 8° below Venus.

Thursday, October 15, 2009
Mercury, Venus and Saturn span 10°. A thin crescent Moon is to the upper right of the planets. Look an hour before sunrise in the east.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Saturn is now 1.3° above Venus. Look for Venus and Saturn in the morning sky, an hour before sunrise. Mercury is 7° to the lower left of Venus. Look to the east. The waning crescent Moon is near the star Regulus, above Venus.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Venus passes 0.5° south of Saturn. Mercury is 7° below Venus and Saturn. Look to the east and hour before sunrise for the planet grouping. Mars is 60° to the west of Venus and Saturn.

Monday, October 12, 2009
Jupiter ends its retrograde motion today. Planets usually move west to east against the background stars. At times, when the Earth is passing a planet in its orbit, planets seem to move backwards, or east to west. Jupiter has been moving east to west since June. It's now going back to its normal prograde motion. Look for Jupiter in the south-southeast sky at dusk.

Sunday, October 11, 2009
Mars is visible high in the morning sky. Mars is in a line with the twin stars Castor and Pollux in Gemini. The Last Quarter Moon is to the west of Mars.

Saturday, October 10, 2009
Venus, Saturn and Mercury are visible in the east at dawn. Saturn is 3.4° to the lower left of Venus. Mercury is 2.5° to the lower left of Saturn. Venus is the brightest at -3.8 magnitude. Mercury is shining at -0.8 magnitude. Saturn is the faintest at 1.1 magnitude.

Friday, October 9, 2009
Saturn is 4.5° to the lower left of Venus. Mercury is 1.4° below Saturn. Saturn's rings are now tilted 2° from edgewise. We are now looking down on the north side of the rings. Look for Venus, Saturn and Mercury in the east an hour before sunrise.

Thursday, October 8, 2009
Mercury passes 0.4° south of Saturn. Look for the close pair 6° to the lower left of Venus. The three planets are low in the east an hour before sunrise.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Look for the Moon west of the Pleiades in the morning sky. In the evening sky, look for the Moon east of the Pleiades. The Moon will rise in the northeast about 2 hours after sunset.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Saturn is 8° to the lower left of Venus and Mercury is 6° to the lower left of Venus. Look for all three planets an hour before sunrise in the east. Saturn and Mercury are 2° apart. In two days they will be just 0.4° apart.

Monday, October 5, 2009
Mercury is at greatest elongation from the Sun. Today mercury is 18° west of the Sun. Look for Mercury along with Saturn and Venus in the east an hour before sunrise. Venus is 6° above Mercury. Saturn is 3° to the lower left of Mercury.

Sunday, October 4, 2009
Saturn, Mercury and Venus fit within a 10° field of view. The three planets will remain within 10° until the 15th of October. Look for the group of planets in the east at dawn.

Saturday, October 3, 2009
Mercury is 7° to the lower left of Venus. Saturn is 4° to the lower left of Mercury. Look for the three planets in the dawn sky. The planets are low in the east. In the evening, look for the Harvest Moon. The Full Moon rises before sunset in the east.

Friday, October 2, 2009
Four planets are visible in the morning sky. Mars, Venus, Mercury and Saturn. Mars is high overhead near the stars Castor and Pollux. Venus, Mercury and Saturn are in a group low in the east. Look 45 minutes before sunrise. Saturn is 12° to the lower right of Venus. Mercury is 8° from Venus.

Thursday, October 1, 2009
Saturn is 5° to the lower left of Mercury. Saturn is getting easier to spot as the days go by. Look for Venus, Mercury and Saturn in the morning sky, 45 minutes before sunrise. The planets are low in the east. Watch as Mercury and Saturn move within a half a degree by the 8th of October.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Mercury is now less than 10° below Venus. Look for Venus and Mercury in the east, 45 minutes before sunrise. Saturn is 5° to the lower left of Mercury. Of the three morning planets, Venus is by far the brightest, Mercury is next and Saturn is the dimmest. Binoculars and a clear horizon will help in finding Mercury and Saturn.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Mercury is 11° to the lower left of Venus. Look for Venus and Mercury in the east, 45 minutes before sunrise. Saturn is 5° to the lower left of Mercury. The best view of Mercury today will be from the MESSENGER spacecraft as it passes just 142 miles above the planet's rocky surface. In the evening sky, the waxing gibbous Moon passes close to Jupiter.

Monday, September 28, 2009
Mercury is 12° to the lower left of Venus. Look to the east 45 minutes before sunrise. Mercury is getting closer to Venus. The two will be at their closest on the morning of the 8th of October. On that date, Mercury will be just 0.2° from Saturn.

Sunday, September 27, 2009
The crater Plato is visible on the Moon. Plato is an unusually dark crater with a smooth bottom. Look for the 60 mile wide Plato close to the terminator on the northern part of the Moon.

Saturday, September 26, 2009
Mercury is visible 15° below Venus. Look to the east 45 minutes before sunrise. Mercury will be a bit easier to see in the next few weeks. Saturn will join Mercury and Venus for a nice morning gathering in the first week of October.

Friday, September 25, 2009
Venus is 6° to the lower left of the star Regulus. Look for Venus in the morning sky. Venus is shining at -3.8 magnitude in the east.

Thursday, September 24, 2009
Mars and Jupiter are 150° apart. Both can be seen about five hours before sunrise. Jupiter will be in the southwest. Mars will be in the ENE. The planets will be about 10° above the horizon.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The waxing crescent Moon is to the lower right of Antares. Watch the Moon move across the southern part of the sky over the next week. By the 29th, the Moon will be close to Jupiter.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Fall begins for the northern hemisphere at 5:19 p.m. EDT. The Sun crosses the equator moving north to south at that time. This marks the Autumnal Equinox. Look for the Sun to set exactly in the west. The Sun will continue to move southward until the winter solstice.

Monday, September 21, 2009
Look for the waxing crescent Moon very low in the southwest. The three day old Moon will be visible a half hour after sunset. Look for earthshine. Earthshine is the faint glow of light on the dark side of the Moon. Earthshine is also known as "The old Moon in the young Moon's arms."

Sunday, September 20, 2009
Venus is 0.5° above the star Regulus. Look for Venus and the star in the dawn sky, one hour before sunrise, low in the east. Mercury is at inferior conjunction today. Inferior conjunction is when a planet is between us and the Sun. Mercury will reappear from the Sun's glare in the morning sky in about a week's time.

Saturday, September 19, 2009
The star Regulus in Leo the Lion is 1.4° below Venus. Look for Venus and the star in the dawn sky, one hour before sunrise, low in the east.

Friday, September 18, 2009
Saturn was in conjunction with the Sun yesterday. Therefore, Saturn is not visible. For the past many months, Saturn has been part of the evening sky. It's now transitioning to a morning object. Saturn will reappear near the end of the month. Start Looking for Saturn around the 27th, low in the east. There will be a nice gathering of Saturn, Mercury and Venus on the 10th of October.

Thursday, September 17, 2009
A very thin old crescent Moon is below Venus. Look to the east one hour before sunrise.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The thin crescent Moon is very close to the planet Venus. Look for Venus and the Moon in the morning sky. The pair will be in the east. The star Regulus is 5° below Venus.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Jupiter's moon Io will pass in front of Jupiter's moon Europa between 8:42 and 8:50 p.m. EDT. Jupiter's moons can easily be seen with most telescopes and good binoculars. A bit later, from 10:10 to 10:20 pm EDT, Io's shadow will pass over Europa. Look for Jupiter in the southeast. It's shining very bright at dusk.

Please send any comments, suggestions, or questions to
John French: frenchj@ msu.edu