Tag Archives: Jupiter

April 12th Public Viewing: A Full House! (Updated)

Posted on by
Moon1024x640_Andrew_Clark_2007

A view of the Moon through the UPEI telescope on an evening several years ago.

After several cancelled viewings due to poor weather, we finally got a successful viewing in this Saturday, April 12 – in terms of weather and attendance! The sky cleared up before the viewing and the clouds rolled back in just as it was ending.  About 25 people came out and were treated to views through our telescope and astronomy instruction. Our telescope operator for the night, Mark (a volunteer from RASC) showed guests Jupiter and its moons followed up by Earth’s own Moon.

StellariumScreenshot

Stellarium is a computer program that shows the positions and motions of stars in our sky.

While guests waited for their opportunity to go up to the telescope, fellow RASC volunteer Brian discussed the viewing objects, gave a tour of the night sky using Stellarium, and answered general astronomy questions.

It was an enjoyable night of astronomy for all involved and we hope to see just as many people at our next viewing. The time for the next public viewing is not yet set, but will likely be the second Saturday in May. Details will be posted here when available.

Public viewings are co-hosted by the UPEI Physics Department and the Charlottetown Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC).

UPDATED: Viewing on Sunday, February 9

Posted on by

Updated February 11, 2014

After clouds moved in at the last minute on Saturday evening, we had to cancel and push the viewing ahead to the next day, Sunday, February 9.  That evening fortunately proved to be a clear, albeit quite chilly, but we had 12 hardy guests brave the elements to attend. Our RASC volunteers discussed astronomy topics with the guests and answered questions while they kept warm and awaited their turn to go up to the telescope.

The objects observed were the waxing gibbous Moon – in particular, some of the craters in its southern hemisphere – and Jupiter.  Despite atmospheric conditions not being at their best, we were able to see the two large brown bands near Jupiter’s equator and three of its four Galilean moons. A simulated view of what we saw is shown below (using Stellarium), although we could not make out quite that level of detail (we weren’t able to discern the Great Red Spot or smaller bands, for example)

JupiterFeb9

Public viewings are co-hosted by the UPEI Physics Department and the Charlottetown Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC).

Jupiter in our evening sky

Posted on by
JupiterFall2013

Jupiter is currently in the constellation Gemini (which has two bright stars, Pollux and Castor), found east of Orion. Shown here at 10:00 PM AST on November 24, 2013.(Image source: screenshot from free planetarium software Stellarium: www.stellarium.org)

Jupiter is appearing once again in our evening sky after several months absence.

As Earth and Jupiter both travel around the Sun, Jupiter’s position relative to the Sun changes as viewed from Earth.  When Jupiter is on the other side of the Sun from Earth (called conjunction), we are unable to see Jupiter because it appears to be near the Sun from our vantage point (and its reflected light is overwhelmed by the Sun’s light).

JupiterConjunctionVsOppositionWhen Jupiter is on the same side of Sun as Earth (called “opposition”), it appears bright and highest in our night sky.  As Jupiter nears opposition (which next occurs in January, 2014), it changes from rising just before sunrise to rising earlier in the night.  Currently, it’s rising around 8:00 PM and can then be seen in the evening and night sky.

You can easily spot Jupiter with the naked eye – it’s one of the brightest objects in the sky.  Look for it east of Orion near two bright stars of the constellation Gemini (as shown in the first image above).

If you have binoculars that you can hold good and steady, you may also be able to spot Jupiter’s four largest moons (called “Galilean” after Galileo, their discoverer) as four bright dots in a line around Jupiter.  These moons will switch position from one night to another as they orbit around Jupiter.

Jupiter and its largest moons viewed through binoculars
(Source: http://en.es-static.us/upl/2009/07/jupiter_galilean_moons_300.jpg)