STEPHEN
Welcome to Idaho Skies for
the weekend of November 22nd. We’re your hosts, Stephen…
BENJAMIN
…and Benjamin.
STEPHEN
The moon appears as a thin crescent 6:30 on the morning of
the 23rd. Thin moon’s like this are cool to see and are even more
attractive through binoculars. But wait, it gets even better on the Saturday
morning. That’s because Mars and the brightest star of Virgo the Maiden are
close at hand.
BENJAMIN
Recall that Mars currently resides on the other side of the
solar system. That means it will be much fainter than it typically appears. In
fact, it might be faint enough that it’s famous orange-tint may not be
apparent. But still, it’s worth looking for Mars now and watching how it gets
brighter over the months.
STEPHEN
Brighter than Mars will be Spica, the lucida of Virgo. You
can’t misidentify the two. Mars will be fainter of the two and below the moon.
Spica will be brighter, purer white in tint, and to the moon’s lower right.
Spica is actually two stars so close together that their mutual gravities warp
them into egg shapes.
BENJAMIN
Stargazers not wanting to get up early will want to look in
the low southwest as it’s getting dark. This weekend, Jupiter passes close to
Venus with their smallest gap occurring on Sunday evening. Venus will appear
much brighter than Jupiter, so it’s easy to distinguish which planet is which.
STEPHEN
That’s Idaho Skies
for the weekend of November 22nd.
BENJAMIN
Be sure to read our blog for additional information.
It’s at idahoskies.blogspot.com.
For Idaho Skies this is Benjamin…
STEPHEN
…and Stephen.
BENJAMIN
Dark skies and bright stars.
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