planets

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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Find Your Address on Earth, 700 Million Years Ago

July 5, 2018 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Science

The location of the author’s home in Maryland about 250 million years ago.

Like many important theories in science, plate tectonics, the concept that the Earth’s surface is like a cracked eggshell with each piece floating on a convective mantle of molten rock, was once considered a crackpot idea. But sometimes crackpot ideas are right. Plate tectonics now underpins all of geology, much like the Big Bang Theory is the foundation of astronomy and astrophysics.

The theory of plate tectonics was deduced in the mid-20th century by a handful of scientists and cartographers who wondered why, for example, the eastern coast of South America complemented so precisely the shape of the western coast of Africa, and why fossils of long-extinct animals were found scattered on different continents separated by wide oceans, and why volcanoes and earthquakes are far more common in some locations than others, and why fossilized marine creatures are sometimes found at the tops of mountains. Before plate tectonics, these observations were a mystery. After plate tectonics, they all started to make sense. [Read more…] about Find Your Address on Earth, 700 Million Years Ago

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Five Bright Planets Visible in the Morning Sky

January 21, 2016 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

The five bright planets of the solar system are visible in the pre-dawn sky from late January to early Febuary 2016. — The five bright planets of the solar system are visible in the pre-dawn sky from late January to early February 2016 in a diagonal line rising from the southeastern horizon towards the southwest.

There’s a ‘planet fest’ in the eastern sky before sunrise in late January and early February 2016 as the five brightest planets– Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter– make an appearance in a long incline from the eastern horizon, well past the meridian, and on towards the southwest. If you’re up early in the next two weeks, 45-60 minutes before sunrise, this is an opportune time to look to the slowly brightening sky to see this alluring array of bright planets [Read more…] about Five Bright Planets Visible in the Morning Sky

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Planet Roundup… and Comet Catalina Update

December 30, 2015 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

Mercury in the southwestern sky about 45 minutes after local sunset on Dec. 31, 2015.

All five bright planets are visible in the sky during this last week of 2015 and into the new year. Here’s a roundup of where to find them and what to look for, along with your best chance to easily spot Comet C/2013 US10 (Catalina) on the first morning of 2016 [Read more…] about Planet Roundup… and Comet Catalina Update

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Moon Joins Planets at Sunrise

October 2, 2015 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

Venus, Jupiter, Mars, the crescent Moon, and the bright star Regulus in the eastern sky on the early morning of October 8, 2015

Set your alarm to wake early on October 8, 2015 to see three bright planets, a bright star, and a waning crescent Moon stacked up along the ecliptic in the eastern sky before sunrise. Over the next few weeks, the planets will bob and weave among the stars of the constellation Leo. As the early mornings turn colder in the northern hemisphere and warmer in the south, the planets will slowly converge. First, Mars and Jupiter will approach within a degree of each other on October 17-18, then Venus will join the two on October 26-27. Find a view of the eastern sky and see the solar system in action before the sun rises. It’s a good way to start the day.

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