Astro Bob

Jupiter and Saturn were less than a degree apart on Dec. 19. Tonight (Dec. 21) they'll be closest. I took this photo with a 200mm telephoto lens. The little string of dots to the upper left of Jupiter are several of its moons! Bob King This is the night we've been waiting for. Jupiter and Saturn will be in close conjunction just 0.1° apart at dusk. You'll find them cozied up together low in the southwestern sky 45 to 90 minutes after sunset or roughly from 5 to 6:15 p.m. local time.  The last observable closest approach of the two distant gas giants occurred on March 5, 1226, while the next close pairing similar to tonight's won't happen until March 15, 2080. Dang, I definitely won't be around for that one, the reason I'm going to hit the road today in search of clear skies.  I hope you get to see their closest approach, but if clouds interfere you have two options. You can continue to watch Jupiter and Saturn huddle together through Christmas night, and tho...

Lawrence Wardzala of Arizona took this striking photo of the moon and the planet pair on Dec. 17 with his handheld iPhone 11. The best time to see the close pairing is about an hour after sunset — from about 5:15 to 6 p.m. — low in the southwestern sky.  Lawrence Wardzala It seems the closer Jupiter and Saturn get the more delicate they appear. That's because we see them in twilight, and the bright sky tames their brilliance. Last night the two giants stood a little less than 0.5° apart alongside the waxing crescent moon. Tonight (Dec. 18) their separation shrinks to 0.3°. Jupiter and Saturn peek out between the trees in this photo made with an iPhone 8 on Dec. 14. Eric Norland Twilight is very useful when it comes to taking photos of the double-planet. In darkness, pictures show an inky sky and two dots, but in twilight you include silhouettes of trees and structures along with a colorful sky to give your images a sense of place. Seasonal lighting displays or a solstice bonfire ca...

A modest aurora is expected tonight similar to this display in Feb. 2012. Bob King Not much happened with the aurora last night, but I've got some good news. We have another shot tonight (Dec. 10-11). Sometime the best predictions are off simply because it's next to impossible to know if those particle puffs from the sun will arrive with the correct configuration to connect into Earth's magnetic field and shower us with light. In that regard, space storm forecasts can be as tricky to figure as earthly weather. There was a little activity yesterday around 8-8:30 p.m. CST, but then the curve went flat. The next round is expected to arrive this afternoon (U.S. time zones) with a strong G3 storm visible from Europe. Once darkness sweeps in over Canada and the U.S., activity is expected to decline to G1 (minor storm) and then expand into a moderate G2 storm between 9 and midnight CST. It's nice to get a second chance. Let's cross our fingers!   

  Look at those whirls of hot plasma! These formed in the wake of a C-class solar flare in active region 2790 mid-morning (CST) on Dec. 7. The material is now on its way to Earth and could possibly spark a geomagnetic storm and auroras. The photo was made in far ultraviolet (UV) light by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory .  NASA / SDO A modest flare that occurred in sunspot group 2790 on Dec. 7 blasted a tsunami of solar ions toward planet Earth. The wave is expected to arrive late Weds. afternoon (Dec. 9) and initiate a minor or G1 geomagnetic storm that will intensify into a G3 or strong storm later that evening. Sunspot group 2790, pictured here on Dec. 5, is no great shakes but somehow pulled off a big enough flare to stir excitement among aurora-watchers down here on Earth. Bob King The arrival is coupled with material expelled from another source, a coronal hole, so we get the benefit of a double whammy. The latest space weather forecast  predicts a G1 storm t...

 China's  Chang'e 5 mission , which lifted off to the moon on Nov. 23, has so far met with great success. As planned, the lander settled down safely near Mons Rümker in the Ocean of Storms then drilled and collected samples of lunar soil and rock. These were stored inside the ascent vehicle which successfully launched to lunar orbit on Dec. 3. After it docks with the sample-return orbiter the pair will leave orbit and head back to Earth. The samples will land in Inner Mongolia on Dec. 15, the first returned to Earth in 44 years. This panoramic view of the lunar surface was made by the Chang'e 5 spacecraft. Click  here  for a high resolution photo that you can explore right down to the nitty-gritty.  CNSA It's all happening so fast it makes me wonder why the U.S. and Russia aren't jutting off to the moon more often. Of course, U.S. priorities are focused on the crewed Artemis III  lunar mission, set to touch down on the moon in October 2024. Likewise, the ...

Jupiter (right) and Saturn huddle about 2° apart on Tuesday night, Dec. 1 at 5:30 p.m. local time. They're headed for an exceptionally close conjunction on Dec. 21. Bob King Closer... closer... closer... It seems like it's taking forever for these two evening planets to reach conjunction, but rest assured it will happen. The big night is Monday, Dec. 21, when the two outer planets will squeeze together so tightly you'll barely be able to split them apart with the naked eye.  Jupiter and Saturn move slowly across the sky because they're distant from Earth. Jupiter is the closer of the two, so it moves more quickly, taking about a year to pass through each constellation of the zodiac and completing one orbit in 12 years. Farthest of the classical planets, Saturn takes 29 years to make a spin around the sun. Every 20 years, faster Jupiter laps Saturn in a Great Conjunction .  Speedier Jupiter shrinks the apparent distance between the two planets until they're closest o...

Chang'e 5 launches atop a Long March 5 rocket on Monday, Nov. 23.  CNSA  Earlier this week China launched its ambitious Chang'e 5 probe on a 23-day mission to the moon to collect and return lunar samples. Named for the Chinese moon goddess, it would be that country's first sample return mission and the first moon rocks brought back to Earth since 1976, when the Soviet Union's Luna 24 sent back a third of a pound (170 grams) from the Sea of Crisis (Mare Crisium). The China National Space Administration (CNSA) hasn't released a detailed timeline, but we know that the spacecraft is expected to enter lunar orbit on November 27 shortly after the sun rises on its target, the region surrounding Mons Rümker (Mt. Rümker). The lander will descend to the sampling site in the following few days and collect 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of rocks, both from the surface and up to 6 feet (2 meters) underground. The lander will use a drill to unearth (unmoon?) these deeper specimens.  ...