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Solar System Observing

Articles about how to understand, find and see solar system objects including planets, the Moon, the Sun, asteroids, meteors, and comets with binoculars, telescopes, and the naked eye.

The Disappearing Great Red Spot

July 26, 2019 by Joe Bergeron Filed Under: Solar System

Jupiter and the cyclonic feature known as the Great Red Spot, lower right, in 2019. New dissipative activity is shrinking and may be destabilizing this famous feature in Jupiter’s atmosphere. Image credit: Anthony Wesley.

Second only to the rings of Saturn, Jupiter’s Great Red Spot (GRS) is probably the most iconic planetary feature in the solar system. Unlike the rings, which aren’t going away any time soon, recent observations of an apparent unraveling of the GRS suggest big changes in this iconic feature, if not its impending demise [Read more…] about The Disappearing Great Red Spot

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Filed Under: Solar System great red spot, jupiter

See the ‘Craters of Apollo 11’

July 18, 2019 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

The astronaut Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin at Tranquility Base on July 20, 1969.

As the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the still astonishing Apollo 11  moon landing, we backyard stargazers can also get in on the fun (indeed many of us grizzled amateur astronomers can trace our interest in the night sky to the space program of the 1960s). With a modest telescope and good seeing, nearly anyone with a little observing experience can see the region of the Moon where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin briefly walked, and observe the three tiny craters named for the two famous moonwalkers and their crew mate Michael Collins who remained alone in lunar orbit to pilot the Apollo 11 command module [Read more…] about See the ‘Craters of Apollo 11’

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Filed Under: Solar System

Lunar Tour – Plato and Region

March 20, 2019 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

As the Moon reaches first quarter, and a day or two past, the Sun casts a dramatic shadow across the Mare Imbrium and a selection of prominent craters, mountains, and an unmistakable lunar valley. Even a tiny telescope will help you see these features as shown in the image above [Read more…] about Lunar Tour – Plato and Region

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Filed Under: Solar System

Mars Meditations

July 31, 2018 by Joe Bergeron Filed Under: Solar System

A composite image of Mars from the Viking Orbiter (image credit: NASA)

The planet Mars is coy. It spends most of its time as a relatively inconspicuous star-like object, only moderately bright, drifting barely noticed though the sky, little seen, or sometimes hiding behind the Sun.

Once every two years it grows bolder. It decides to put on a show. But even then, it’s sneaky about it, gathering its glory in the late hours of the night, seen mainly by dedicated astronomers, those who know what to expect and where to look.

And then, at the apex of its splendor, it rises at sunset, blazing across the sky all night for a few brief weeks, revealing itself in a level of detail far beyond what it will normally display [Read more…] about Mars Meditations

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Filed Under: Solar System mars, opposition, planets, solar system

Seeing Saturn in 2018

June 13, 2018 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

saturnMany casual observers get hooked on amateur astronomy after a first look at Saturn through a telescope.  More than a few have looked through my small refractor on a night of good seeing and asked of Saturn, “Is it real?” Yes, it is real.  And it’s one of the most beautiful things you will ever see. The color of Saturn, the proportions, the apparent 3D perspective of this grand icy world make it arguably the finest sight accessible with a small telescope. The planet reaches opposition on June 27, 2018 and will remain bright and large in a telescope over the next few months. Here’s how to find it and see it in a small telescope.

[Read more…] about Seeing Saturn in 2018

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Filed Under: Solar System planet, saturn, solar system, titan

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