COLLECTION NAME:
|
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
mediaCollectionId
NVA2~4~4
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
Collection
true
|
|
Title:
|
A Sky Full Of Planets
title
A Sky Full Of Planets
Title
false
|
Explanation:
|
Look up tonight [ http://www.cnn.com/
]. Just after sunset, the crescent moon and all five "naked-eye" planets (Mercury [ http://antwrp.gsfc.
], Venus [ http://antwrp.gsfc.
], Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.
], Jupiter [ http://antwrp.gsfc.
], and Saturn [ http://antwrp.gsfc.
]) will be visible (depending on your latitude), lying near our solar system's ecliptic plane [ http://antwrp.gsfc.
]. Venus and Jupiter will shine brilliantly as the brightest "stars" in the sky, but Mercury will be near the horizon and hard to see. A pair of binoculars will also reveal Uranus and Neptune and observers with a telescope and a good site may even be able to glimpse faint Pluto just above the Western horizon in the fading twilight (not shown on the chart above). Enjoy this lovely spectacle any clear night [ http://www.skypub.c
] through about December 8. A similar gathering is expected in May 2000 [ http://www.skypub.c
] but the planets will be hidden from view by the solar glare. A night sky as full of planets as this one will occur again though ... in about 100 years.
explanation
Look up tonight [ http://www.cnn.com/TECH/9712/01/heavenly.show.ap/ ]. Just after sunset, the crescent moon and all five "naked-eye" planets (Mercury [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971130.html ], Venus [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971014.html ], Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970528.html ], Jupiter [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971030.html ], and Saturn [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970829.html ]) will be visible (depending on your latitude), lying near our solar system's ecliptic plane [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970927.html ]. Venus and Jupiter will shine brilliantly as the brightest "stars" in the sky, but Mercury will be near the horizon and hard to see. A pair of binoculars will also reveal Uranus and Neptune and observers with a telescope and a good site may even be able to glimpse faint Pluto just above the Western horizon in the fading twilight (not shown on the chart above). Enjoy this lovely spectacle any clear night [ http://www.skypub.com/whatsup/dec97sky.html ] through about December 8. A similar gathering is expected in May 2000 [ http://www.skypub.com/special/alignmnt/whypanic.html ] but the planets will be hidden from view by the solar glare. A night sky as full of planets as this one will occur again though ... in about 100 years.
Explanation
false
|
Credit and Copyright:
|
credit_and_copyright
T. Bridgman ( GSFC [ http://pao.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] and Greenbelt Astronomy Club [ http://lheawww.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/outreach/gac/GAC.html ]), Carina Software
Credit and Copyright
false
|
keyword:
|
ecliptic
keyword
ecliptic
keyword
false
|
facet_when:
|
May 2000
facet_when
May 2000
facet_when
false
|
facet_where:
|
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where
false
|
facet_what:
|
Carina
facet_what
Carina
facet_what
false
|
facet_when_year:
|
2000
facet_when_year
2000
facet_when_year
false
|
original url:
|
original_url
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971204.html
original url
false
|
UID:
|
SPD-APOD-ap971204
uid
SPD-APOD-ap971204
UID
false
|