Planetary Line Up

[Eric Mc]

Anybody been out watching the planets putting on a show tonight?

We have had - in order from west to east - Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars all nicely lined up in the evening sky.

Mars is utterly brilliant at the moment and shining like a bright orange beacon.

[Kccv23highliftcam]

Raining here.

lovely it be xxx

[anonymous-user]

Forgive my amateurish description, but is Mars roughly South, low elevation and quite a warm colour light?
It's just the past few days I've noticed a really bright, warm and larger light in the night sky in that general direction and was wondering what it was.

[Beati Dogu]

Yes, that's Mars. Saturn it higher up to its right.

Try a phone / tablet app to help identify things for you. I like SkyView Lite for iOS, which is free.

[anonymous-user]

Cheers will try an app. It's nice to be able to see with the naked eye and so bright!

[Eric Mc]

Mars is fairly easily identified whenever it is visible. However, because it is currently at its closest to earth for 15 years, it is exceptionally bright at the moment.

I was sufficiently inspired yesterday to dust off my reflecting telescope (a £50 Aldi cheapie) and have a look - but, of course, it clouded over in the evening.

I'll try again tonight.

On Thursday I had a look at Jupiter , Saturn and Mars through my 40 x 50 binoculars which were mounted on a tripod. The moons Ganymede and Callisto were clearly visible on either side of Jupiter. The rings of Saturn, which are well positioned at the moment, were visible and Mars definitely showed a distinctive red disk.

I'm hoping that the larger magnifications available with the telescope will show Jupiter's moons better and hopefully give a better view of Saturn's rings.

Mars is in the middle of a planet wide dust storm at the moment so it's doubtful any surface detail will be visible.

[AlexC1981]

In my 36 years I have never seen, or at least identified another planet in the sky. I think I need to remedy this.

[Eric Mc]

This is a great opportunity to spot four very easily.

[anonymous-user]

Beati Dogu said:

Yes, that's Mars. Saturn it higher up to its right.

Try a phone / tablet app to help identify things for you. I like SkyView Lite for iOS, which is free.

Thanks for the tip. I just installed SkyView Lite, what a great app

[Kccv23highliftcam]

AlexC1981 said:

In my 36 years I have never seen, or at least identified another planet in the sky. I think I need to remedy this.

It's been estimated that less than 2% of the surface population have seen mercury either..It's difficult and needs optical assistance, but extreme care has to be taken due to it's proximity to Sol in the sky..best attempted after sun set..

[AlexC1981]

I downloaded the app and I've just seen Jupiter and Venus. I assume it must have been them as they appeared to be in the right place and they are the only lights visible in the sky at the moment. It's not quite dark yet and there is a lot of light pollution where I live.

[sidicks]

garyhun said:

Thanks for the tip. I just installed SkyView Lite, what a great app

Skyview is a great app - I showed it to some people on holiday and they were amazed!

[Beati Dogu]

I like the music Skyview plays too. I Really must upgrade to the full version.

[smaxbod]

It was a beautiful clear night tonight. Got a great look at Mars, Saturn (and rings), Venus and Jupiter with a few moons through the telescope. Lots oooohs and ahhs from the kids (and wife and neighbour). Definitely worth popping your head outside for a few minutes to see them all, even without a scope or binoculars.

Enough talk, back to lurking for another 5 years ...

[AlexC1981]

Just seen Mars and Saturn. Mars is the most distinct due to the colour. I can actually see it quite clearly whilst looking out the window from my bed. Like a tiny incandescent light bulb in the sky.

[Eric Mc]

Finally got a good look at the planets through my reflector scope. Was actually impressed with the size of Mars' disc.

And the rings of Saturn looked superb.

[Beati Dogu]

Can you make out Mars' white polar caps?

I may have to assemble my old telescope. I saw the tube in my parent's garage the other day.

[Eric Mc]

Beati Dogu said:

Can you make out Mars' white polar caps?

I may have to assemble my old telescope. I saw the tube in my parent's garage the other day.

Not with my cheap and cheerful scope.

I'm not sure how the raging dust storm is obscuring such detail.

[Beati Dogu]

A recent (July 18th) Hubble photo shows the polar caps should still be visible:

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnail...

[Eric Mc]

So it's just my crappy scope.

I'll have another look tonight. The skies are nice and clear at the moment.