[MooseGooser]

I have been watching the spectacular show of our solar system the last few nights on my way home from work..

The march sky right now is just as perfect as it gets to view 5 different plants.


Venus and Jupiter are the first to pop at sundown in the western sky.. they look like light houses ,, very bright and spectacular..

if you look very closely near the bottom of the wester horizon just at dark,, you can see mercury. mercury is very fain,, but a pair ofstandard binocs will let you see it well... wontlastmuch longer tough..

Saturn come out just a bit later in the evening. You can faintly see the rings with a backyard telescope...

You can easily see the moons of Jupiter with one of these neighbor watching devices...



Mars is also very visible right now also... all night long
It was the brightest on my birthday.. march 3rd. The brightest it will be for a 2 year period of time.


Watch later this month in the western sky,, as the very fine sliver of wax moon will be directly below venus and Jupiter. around march 23 or 24th.. It will be beautiful!! especially if you can get above timberline...

Its a pretty crazy star watchin time right now!!

Gooser

 

[Howard N]

The other night right at sundown I was walking the dogs. Mercury, Venus and Jupiter were all visible walking straight ahead. I turned my head and Mars was there. Saturn was visible earlier this winter but has gone below the horizon now. It's around Spica and I haven't even seen it in the morning before daylight recently.

 

[Illinois Bob]

Add this to the show. Click in your location on the link and it will tell you where to look and at what time you can watch the space station do a fly by if it goes through your neighborhood. It's very accurate. If it says 30 degrees,look 30 degrees up from the horizon or what ever angle it will be right at the time on the chart for your area and look in the direction it says. It was really cool when the shuttle would separate from the station. You could see both,like two shooting stars together go across the sky.

http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/

 

[metalone67]

They say you should be able to see Uranus late at night. :razz:

 

[MooseGooser]

Bob!

That Nasa link is really cool, and very accurate!
When Nasa was flyin the shuttle, you could really see it well when the shuttle and space station docked...

had the neighbor kids out one night watchin it.. Sometimes the vewing timescan be quite long as it passes overhead..

Howard..
What it must be like to live way north, and away from city lights..
Have you had spectacular aurora shows yet?? We weere sposed to be able to possibly see it here, but I live to close to city lights to get the full effect..

Gooser

P.S.

Sorry I didnt add the GDG

 

[MooseGooser]

Metalone...
Ya need a mirror.
and usually includes a full moon..
Gooser

 

[Jonathan Maulden]

Mooser since you are keeping an eye on the planets let us know if they are all gonna line up and make the earth explode this december like the Myans say that it will....

 

[Illinois Bob]

Bob!

That Nasa link is really cool, and very accurate!
When Nasa was flyin the shuttle, you could really see it well when the shuttle and space station docked...

had the neighbor kids out one night watchin it.. Sometimes the vewing timescan be quite long as it passes overhead..


Gooser

Our company got to build a part for NASA's new J2X rocket engine that is testing now. Before those guys came around our shop I only occasionally watched the sky. Working with them has given us front row seats to see quite a bit of what NASA does. Very interesting, and exciting things to see. Their enthusiasm is contagious so I follow that stuff more closely now. Now I look up more often.

 

[Lee Jones]

I thought I saw all those planets and several large stars a few nights ago, but turns out it was just the Crown Royal!

 

[Old School Labs]

OK you little space cadet, you need to be watching the road when go home from work, not the skies DUDE.....

 

[Kelly Greenwood]

I like the app "planets" for my iPhone

 

[dmccarty]

Here's the cause of the awesome display:

After my dad was given six months to live due to brain cancer, we were sitting outside at his picnic table having coffee. We were talking about all kinds of things but mainly just trying to get everything said between us before he had to go. I told him, "When you die, if you can, could you give me a sign so that I know you're okay?" He kinda chuckled and said, "sure". And I said, "Don't make it something subtle, to where I will wonder 'was that a sign' because I'm not very good at reading between the lines. You need to make it really obvious". And he just laughed, and told me that if he could, he would.

The day he slipped into a coma from which he never recovered, I turned on the news and the anchorman was reporting on a solar storm, and it showed the bright explosions, and he talked about how the northern lights would be more magnificent than ever before. And I knew, even though I was two hours away, that he had stepped over to the other side. Thanks Pops, for the sign. I miss you terribly but my heart is not heavy, because I know you're okay.

 

[MooseGooser]

what a great story, dmmcarty,

Gooser