On this date in 1564, astronomer Galileo Galilei was born. He studied sunspots and observed the four largest moons of Jupiter, which are now known as the Galilean moons. Learn more about Galileo Galilei. Image Credit: Justus Sustermans – Portrait of Galileo Galilei, 1636
Saturn is starting to climb out of the glare of the sun. The ringed planet rises around 5:00 am. Look for it in the southeast by 5:40 am. Learn more about Saturn.
Tonight you will find the planet Mars and Uranus close together in the sky. They will be separated by only 1.1°. If you have binoculars find Mars and then look south and you might see the planet Uranus. Learn more about Uranus.
First quarter moon occurs tonight. Once the sun sets, the moon will appear in the southern sky. If you have binoculars scan along the line that separates day and night on the moon. Here you will see the best lunar details. Learn about the lunar phases.
Jupiter has started another apparition becoming visible in the early morning. Tomorrow it will rise around 3:00 am becoming easily seen after 3:30 am. Learn more about Jupiter.
Tonight you will find the moon and Mars in the western sky after sunset. Tonight, Mars will appear about 6° north of the moon. Learn more about Mars
Planets that orbit stars other than the sun are called exoplanets. NASA lists 3,890 confirmed exoplanets. Are you interested in exoplanets? Look into the NASA missions Kepler and TESS. Learn more about exoplanets.
The first confirmed discovery of a planet orbiting a main sequence star occurred in 1995. The star is named 51 Pegasi and the planet was cataloged 51 Pegasi b. Eventually the planet was named Dimidium. Learn more about Diumidium / 51 Pegasi b. Image Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser/Nick Risinger (skysurvey.org)
Tonight the moon will exhibit a waxing crescent phase. 8% of the lunar disk will be illuminated but the rest of the moon will be dimly visible due to light bouncing of the Earth. This is called Earthshine. Learn more about Earthshine.
Currently, the sun is in the midst of solar minimum. This means sunspot activity will be low. Sunspots can cause solar flares which in turn can cause auroras. Learn more about solar minimum.
