Planetary Aperçus: Featuring Saturn and Uranus

Spoken literally from the French, aperçu is an "outline or summary" or even a "glimpse," which is what this article will give you: an impression of two planets, although rather dim when viewed by the naked eye.

SATURN GOES RETROGRADE: FEBRUARY 8, 2012

This Wednesday, February 8, 2012, Saturn will begin to go retrograde. It rises around eleven pm to midnight, in the east, and reaches the zenith around 5 am. At that time, Saturn will be seen in Virgo, west of Spica (although it will vary among locations). Its retrograde period will signify better viewing, as it will rise earlier. "Saturn will be rising earlier each evening with each passing day. It’ll soon be in a more convenient place for evening viewing," EarthSky.com reminds. Saturn will be at magnitude 0.5, so spotting it shouldn't be that hard.

What is, precisely, retrograde motion? Covered in detail when Mars went retrograde in January 2012, apparent retrograde motion is the visible, backward orbit of a planet as viewed from earth, due to the orbit of that planet. On account of the fact that earth orbits quicker than other planets (particularly the outer planets; although the inner planets (Mercury and Venus) exhibit it rather differently), earth, from time to time, will "overtake" a planet of note (such as Saturn), causing that planet to look as if it travels in reverse, periodically being motionless for a few days before and after the event. As earth then passes the planet again, we can see that it resumes its old orbit (which is normal: west to east). [There is a visual at the Mars link above]

Saturn will be at opposition April 15, 2012. Opposition is literally when Saturn is closest to earth, and brightest in the sky, but until then, Saturn's retrograde is a spectacle! Early June marks the end of Saturn's retrograde motion. Read more about Saturn from EarthSky.com. From NakedEyePlanets.

URANUS AND VENUS CONJUNCT

So vibrant will be these two planets over the next few days. Venus has been shining strong, being the second brightest object in the night sky at magnitude -4.1 (although it will be brightest when the moon goes new), and now, just 0.3 degrees beneath it will be Uranus, bluish-green! Interesting to note, Uranus shines at magnitude 5.9, almost 10000 times dimmer than Venus!, and the brighter will lead you to the dimmer. Both planets are presently in Pisces.

Special Dual-Planet, Bright Star, and Young Moon Conjunction

Tonight, September 28, 2011, two planets, the young moon, and a bright star will all conjunct, giving us a beautiful spectacle of four different objects. As you can see in the picture below, the young moon's crescent faces down towards earth, as Venus (which has returned to the sky!) and Saturn cower below it. The bright star Spica is above them all; earlier this year Spica and Saturn were in conjunction, funny how the objects are really moving now. But you must have special viewing commodities to view this special conjunction. EarthSky.com writes:

"However, an unobstructed horizon in the direction of sunset is absolutely essential for witnessing this gathering of phantoms in the twilight. At our mid-northern latitudes, the celestial foursome sets too soon after sunset to be visible."

Although the new moon was yesterday, viewing the crescent will be incredibly difficult, but if you live more southern, you might be able to see more.

Events for the Week 5/14 to 5/21

The four-planet dance of 2011 closes with a great array of spaciously-placed planets. Jupiter rises far above the others while Venus sinks to the horizon. See for yourself!

Events for May 14

Spica will shine brightly over the moon. A Jovian-Dual Transit will occur today. See this page for more information. What's the belt of Venus in the earth's shadow. Find out. 

Events for May 15

These next events are much similar to those which happened last week, May 7 and 8. Space&Telescope write "As night descends, look west-northwest for Pollux and Castor lined up almost horizontally. They're separated by about three finger-widths at arm's length."  Procyon is far to the right with Capella even farther. 10 Hygiea is still at opposition this week, at magnitude 9.2 in southern Libra. "Hygiea is the fourth-largest asteroid; it appears as dim as it does because its surface is quite black."

Events for May 16

The Big Dipper is northwest tonight. "Just a few weeks ago it was horizontal! That sort of quick change happens to star patterns passing near the zenith. (Can you can figure out why? Answer next week.)" Sky&Telescope challenges you to reason why. You can research 'zenith' here.

Events for May 17

Tonight, the moon will be full, casting eerie shadows in the dark. At 7:09 am EDT, the moon will be at its fullest. Antares rests below it tonight. 

Events for May 18

The summer triangle is back again. [Go to the link and look under date May 12 to read more.] Another dual-shadow transit takes place today. Check out this page for more info.

Events for May 19

A new constellation, Cassiopeia is very low and looks like a wide 'w' rather than how it is supposed to look: a 'flattened m.' (It depends where you live though) If you're very south (Florida, Cuba, etc.) Cassiopeia is completely out of sight below the northern horizon.

The moon will also cordially visit the teapot! EarthSky writes this about this event: "Tonight’s moon beams in front of the constellation Sagittarius the Archer. By around midnight, the Sagittarian Teapot will climb above the southeast horizon, with the moon sitting atop the Teapot. The Teapot is an asterism – a recognizable star pattern – in the western half of Sagittarius. But you probably won’t make out the Teapot tonight because of the lunar glare." Also note, midnight is the time to see it. It just clears the horizon at that time. When June passes, ten o'clock pm will be the key time.

Events for May 20

Even though the wondrous Planet Dance of 2011 ended, the planets are still visible, just not as close as they were. Over the next few days until Sunday, Venus forms a right triangle (about 2 degrees wide) with Mercury and Mars. Mercury is below it, while Mars is to its left. You need binoculars to see the two fainter planets: Mars and Mercury. [Meanwhile] Jupiter soars ahead of them all, acting like the 'king of the planets,' as it is known.

In the evening, Spica, Corvus and Virgo are all able to be seen, as the diagram below shows us. 

Events for May 21 

"Arcturus is the brightest star very high in the southeast after dark. Vega, equally bright, is much lower in the northeast. A third of the way from Arcturus to Vega look for the dim semicircle of Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown, with its one moderately bright star, Alphecca. Two-thirds of the way from Arcturus to Vega is the dim Keystone of Hercules." writes Sky&Telescope as they wrap up their week. 

A picture of the sunrise planets on the 22 is below. A movie of the movements.

Planet Positions for the week of May 14 - May 21

Mercury- lowest planet in the sky at dawn

Venus- brightest planet at dawn closest to the horizon

Mars- to the upper-left of Venus at dawn

Jupiter- Highest of all the dawn planets; second brightest

Saturn- magnitude 0.6 in Virgo; only planet really visible at night, the others are all around the time of dawn.

Uranus- mag 5.9 in western Pisces; very low in the east before dawn

Neptune- mag 7.9 in Aquarius, southeast before dawn

Solar System Calendar

14 May 2011 10:26:45 Conjunction of Saturn with the Moon, 7.6°
14 May 2011 22:12:40 Max. South Latitude of Pluto, 4.5°
15 May 2011 11:24:27 Moon at Perigee, 362135 km from Earth
16 May 2011 09:24:44 Conjunction of Mercury and Venus, 1° 24'
17 May 2011 11:08:39 Full Moon
18 May 2011 06:45:08 Mercury apparently closest to Venus, 1° 21'
18 May 2011 23:25:19 Min. North Declination of the Moon, -23.4°
19 May 2011 09:03:03 Ascending Knot Passage of the Moon
20 May 2011 01:16:57 Conjunction of Mercury and Mars in Right Ascension, 2° 21'
21 May 2011 01:19:33 Conjunction of Mercury and Mars, 2° 9'
21 May 2011 08:14:50 Mercury apparently closest to Mars, 2° 8'

Have a great viewing this week!