Moon & Saturn: Close!!

Just a quick note, if ya got a clear sky

Moon nearing Saturn for monthly flyby

Friday, it's Full, the Harvest moon

Between Jupiter & Saturn, you'll swoon!

🌞

Our star is still spotty & blasting

Several more years could be lasting

This solar cycle that is...

Billion of years left in the star biz

Tonight Off Earth

Aurora Alert!!

🌞

Our nearby star, still lots of spots

Some, it seems, sending Earth shots

SOLAR WIND

Coming our way

Colorful auroras will play

Across the northern USA

Clear skies, that wild glow

Just might be a solar show

🌖

Moon is gibbous & waning

And, on Mars it is gaining

Passed Saturn & Jupiter by

But, above Red Planet, 2 nights nigh

W/ the Pleiades above the moon

Could be a pre-dawn swoon

Tonight On Earth

Moon Over Venus With Spica

Looking like it might be clear tonight...if so, get out and check out the waxing crescent moon above bright Venus tonight. As it gets a little darker you should be able to make out a star to the left of those two forming a triangle (yes, unless in a line, 3 objects always form a triangle)and that is Spica in Virgo.
Want to check out more? Look well above and north of that grouping to find the Big Dipper, looking like a dipper these days. Follow the arc of the dipper's handle around to quite bright, Arcturus (arc to Arcturus) and then spike straight down to Spica.
Following the path the sun took today (the ecliptic) to the upper left of the Moon and Venus is Jupiter, keep curving around to golden-ish Saturn and continue your curve on to the east to find very bight and very red, Mars. High above Mars in the east you can find the stars of the Summer Triangle. After the moon and Venus are down and it's dark you can see (if it's truly dark where you are) the Milky Way, flowing through the triangle. The lowest star in the triangle is Deneb, the tail of Cygnus the Swan; the swan is flying along the Milky Way. While you can imagine a swan, you might also see why Cygnus is called the Northern Cross.
No rain, no clouds, get out and check out the sky, Tonight on Earth.
Go out late...hang in a lounge chair for a bit and you'll likely see some left over Perseid meteors!! Bonus!!

Mercury & the Crescent Moon

Been awhile... at least an entire school year...
Last night I took a little drive to a clear cut down the road to check out the western horizon after sunset (9ish) and after easily spotting bright Venus, used binoculars to spy both the 30 hours old waxing moon and the speedy, elusive Mercury. Once I found them in the binoculars, I was able to easily see the moon and after a little bit of searching, Mercury, with just my eyes: spectacular! Mercury, only 9 days after coming out from behind the sun, is gibbous but what shape I could make out in the binoculars looked round, but it was nice just to see it again. The incredibly thin moon looked huge in the binocs even though it was soooooooo thin - it wasn't dark enough to see the dark side of our satellite with earthshine. But, the moon and our inner most planet were gorgeous just above the lovely colors of sunset.  Jupiter, looking about 90 degrees left of the Mercury/Moon/Venus scene, is bright and high up in the south.
Seeing 3 planets (and the moon) spread across the sky makes the ecliptic easy to see/imagine. The ecliptic is the plane of our solar system and the path that the sun and planets (and our moon) must take through the sky. Last night you could start at Jupiter and follow the curve around to Venus and then down toward Mercury and even on past the edge of earth to the recently set sun.  The ecliptic is overhead at the equator and on the horizon at the poles, so, about 38 degrees up here at 38 degrees north latitude. It also is where you find the constellations of the zodiac. Want more zodiac info, check out the last blog on Sun & Sky, written by my students last year. Want to know more, go check out the night sky, today on Earth.
Tonight the still tiny crescent moon will be closer to and, below Venus. Making a triangle with the moon and Venus (and above Mercury) are the bright, but much dimmer than either Venus or Mercury, twins stars of Gemini, Castor and Pollux. Should be a coolish, clear, lovely evening, check out your solar system, Tonight on Earth.

The Solar System & A New Science Look At Astrology

Abby, Karli, Harrison, & Kami          Solar System March 28, 2017

What is astrology? Astrology is very similar to Astronomy, except Astronomy is the current scientific study and Astrology is the “ancient” look at the universe. There are many different things that can be studied within the Solar System, including the phases of the Moon, where the planets are located, and if they are near any constellations. You can also study the movement of the planets or the Sun and how it produces heat for the Solar System. We as humans, love to look up into the sky and see the Moon. At first we never knew that all of the stars and our Moon were up above us, that’s why studying the Solar System can be so interesting.

The solar system originated around five billion years ago when a cloud of dust and other particles began to stick together and form the planets and the Sun of our solar system. The center of our solar system, the Sun, began as a massive cloud of hydrogen gas that pulled in on itself with the help of gravity and created a self sustaining, nuclear fusing star. The planets followed suit as their keystone particles began to latch onto one another and form bigger and more massive “protoplanets”, which would then form the moons and planets of our solar system. There have been many theories regarding the solar system and how it functions, For example in the Middle Ages the common theory was the earth was the center of the solar system and our universe. These theories would be debunked over time with the contributions of Ptolemy and Copernicus (Both pushing the newer heliocentric theory of the solar system), Galileo with the telescope and the founding of new planets and moons (Jupiter’s moons and other spatial bodies unknown to man at the time), and Johannes Kepler who found that the orbits of the planets around the sun were elliptical which challenged the preconceived notion that the orbits were perfectly circular around the sun.

In Astronomy, New Moon is known as the first phase of the Moon, when Earth can not see the Moon and we have a dark night sky with no Moon in sight, that is what we know as a New Moon. The reason you can’t see the Moon when it is New is because the Sun, Earth and Moon are all aligned in one line and the Moon is behind the Earth completely away from the Sun so it’s light does not shine on the Moon. As we know Earth and every other planet revolves around the Sun and all the planets, except Mercury and Venus,  have one or more Moons revolving around them so the Sun shines light that illuminates light off the surface of the Moon and bounces that light onto the surface of the Earth. The phase of the Moon changes daily depending on where the Moon is positioned relative to the Earth and Sun.

Reporter: Kami

Yesterday’s Details

Today March 28, 2017, the cycle of the Moon is currently starting over, at the New Moon. The Moon rose during 7:32 A.M. at 88 degrees East and will set during 8:17 P.M. at 276 degrees West. There are 227,461 miles between Richmond, Va and the Moon. The Moon is in Pisces as well as the Sun. They’re both here because the Moon is a New Moon. Today the Sun rose during 7:00 A.M. at 85 degrees East and will set at 7:29 P.M. at 275 degrees West. From Richmond, Va the Sun is 92.771 million miles away. Today there will be 12 hours, 28 minutes, and 17 seconds of daylight. The planets locations are listed below as well as their locations: Venus is in Pisces, Jupiter is in Virgo, Mercury is in Pisces, Saturn is in Sagittarius, Mars is in Aries, Uranus is in Pisces, and Neptune is in Aquarius. The next Meteor Shower will be during the night of April 21, 2017. So, start watching the skies at night!

https://theskylive.com/planets

https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/usa/richmond

https://www.timeanddate.com/Sun/usa/richmond

Zodiac Signs have changed!

Rachel’s Story:

All my life I thought I was a Capricorn, but it turns out I am a Sagittarius! All those horoscopes were lies. Because of an astronomical phenomenon, constellations have moved since they were first discovered some 2,000 years ago. This means that most Capricorns aren't Capricorn at all. When I got over my initial shock, I looked up the characteristics of each sign. According to www.astrology-zodiac-signs.com, Capricorns are responsible, disciplined, and have good self-control. On the other hand, a Sagittarius is generous, idealistic, and have a good sense of humor. Of those two, I still feel as if I fall under Capricorn more so than Sagittarius, but maybe I'm still in denial. The Capricorn and Sagittarius constellations are visible in the summer.

Emily’s Story:

The month of November falls in between two horoscopes, Libra and Scorpio. It has always been that my birth date was a part of Scorpio, but apparently the sun was located in Libra when I was born. Horoscopes are actually very well known and seen on social media quite often, you’d be surprised how many people look them and wonder how well they really match their sign. A Libra is cooperative, diplomatic, gracious, fair-minded, and social. While some weaknesses are being indecisive, avoids confrontations, and will carry a grudge. Libras element is air.  A Scorpio is resourceful, brave, passionate, stubborn, and a true friend. While some of it’s weaknesses are distrusting, jealous, and violent. Scorpios element is water. I could definitely be a little bit of both! Characteristics of both signs found at http://www.astrology-zodiac-signs.com/. The Libra and Scorpio constellations are visible in the early summer.

Mikayla’s Story:

My birthday is April 15th, which falls under Pisces according to sidereal zodiac signs. However, according to the tropical zodiac signs, I am an Aries. The difference between sidereal and tropical zodiac signs are the shifts of the equinoxes by a correction called ayanamsa. Ayanamsa is the sanskrit term in Indian astronomy for the amount of precession. In astrology, this is the longitudinal difference between the Tropical and Sidereal zodiac signs. According to http://www.astrology-zodiac-signs.com/ , Aries are courageous, determined, confident, optimistic, passionate, impatient, and aggressive. Pisces are compassionate, artistic, intuitive, overly trusting, and fearful. I still feel as though I’m an Aries, so I will continue to identify as one. The Pisces and Aries constellations are visible in spring time.

Jacob's story:

For my whole life I thought I was a Cancer. I figured out that I am actually a Gemini. According to http://www.astrology-zodiac-signs.com/ Cancer’s are tenacious, imaginative, loyal, emotional, sympathetic, and persuasive, but my actual zodiac sign, Gemini, says I am gentle, affectionate, curious, adaptable, and I have the ability to learn quickly. To be fair my sign only changed by two days, and horoscopes and zodiac signs don’t actually do or mean anything. They are basically pointless and I don’t really care about them (this is my opinion on the matter). So oh well. These constellations are easiest to see in spring.

To discover if you’re zodiac sign has changed, visit: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj12A3zoDti9KwuSCnFdUIRdYTaQbIoLprfCRvmQN0c6qPdY6KGlCZMHj1iLVaoZbnwKRqcmmmyhGvYpAGiYRrngnHMhRWHzNtEW1k-RYo1sDRqlrtTywCF874awR1ZwSmrIx6X8clg8A/s1600/ZodiacSignsOldvsNew.JPG

Solar System and Beyond - Venus Right Above the Sun!!

From Vicious and Delicious: Rachel, EC, Jacob and Mikayla

Planets and Moon phases

Yesterday, March 23, the moon phase was waning crescent and was located in libra. It was 24% illuminated, and is getting smaller. The sun rose at 7:08 a.m. and set at 7:25 p.m. on March 22, the moon phase is waning crescent and is 14% of full. Moonrise is 3:39 a.m. and moonset is 2:26 p.m. The sun rose at 7:07 a.m. and set at 7:26 p.m..Venus is the morning and evening star because it is lined up with the sun and earth. Today Jupiter is in the east and in virgo, and is one of the brightest things you will see in the sky tonight with its star spicka under it., you can see Mars in the west as a bright red star. You will the the constellation Orion with the brightest star Capella.

Emily: Human Interests (Venus and Mars names (why))

Mikayla: Historian (Venus)when’d it last pass and when will it happen again?

Jacob: Reporter (sunrise and sunset, what you can see in the sky)

Rachel: Editor (conclusion)

Venus’s last transit across the sun last happened on June 5, 2012. This transit won't happen again until 105 years from now. This will occur on December 11, 2117. Only seven Venus transits have been seen since the telescope was invented 400 years ago.

Our planets, all except Earth, were named after Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. Venus was actually named after the goddess of love and beauty. Mars was named after the god of war. These two planets were actually the few that got their names thousands of years ago.

And in news out of this solar system: From Sammsung

The Outer Space and Constellations

The constellations are groups of stars that form recognizable patterns that are named after its form or identified with a mythological figure. Astronomers divided the sky into eighty-eight constellations. At different times each year, different constellations appear. The constellations rotate based on the earth’s path through space. The sun, moon, and earth travel on a path in called the ecliptic. The thirteen constellations they pass through, are known as the stars of the zodiac.

The Sun’s Zodiac Constellation

As of March 24th, the Sun is located in the constellation of “Pisces”.  Pisces is named for the Latin plural of fish. Pisces is located in the first quadrant of the Northern Hemisphere. It is overall the 14th largest constellation in the sky, covering 889 degrees. Although the constellation is one of the biggest, its stars are fairly dim, making it hard to see with the naked eye.

Marie, Savannah. "Zodiac Constellations Wall Decal." Pinterest. N.p., 23 Feb. 2015. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.

Our Sun

The sun is the heart of our solar system. It’s gravity holds everything from planets to stars in place. The sun, like other stars is a big ball of gas. The sun itself is 4.6 billion years old. The sun is 1.3 million times the size of the earth. One day the sun will completely engulf the earth. Don’t worry, it won’t happen for another 5 billion years or so.

Of course everyone knows it takes the earth 365 DAYS to travel around the sun. Well did you know it takes 250 million YEARS to make 1 revolution around the milky way galaxy? That makes our year look like nothing! Everyone loves a Gorgeous sunrise and sunset. Today the sun rose at 7:17 and it will set at 6:35 pm. It actually takes 8 minutes for the suns light to reach earth.

Most of the time the sun rises and it sets, but it actually has a very interesting historical past.  The Solar Storm of 1859, or the Carrington Event, was a geomagnetic solar storm that occurred in the 10th solar cycle, leading to the largest geomagnetic storm on Earth in recorded history. The energy released by one solar flares is like the amount of energy set off from millions of 100-megaton hydrogen bombs exploding all at once.
Posted by Earth Warriors