A Fantastic Monday Morning Sky Show

SKY NIGHTLY

Venus and the crescent Moon. Photo credit: Zhen Jie of Singapore. July 17, 2007.

by Dr. Tony Phillips for NASA Science News
Huntsville AL (SPX) Nov 05, 2007
This is worth waking up for. On Monday morning, Nov. 5th, anyone willing to step outside before dawn will see a fantastic display of stars and planets-and maybe a couple of spaceships, too.

The planets: Venus, Saturn and Mars
Venus is the extravagantly luminous "star" hanging low in the east. You can't miss it-especially because the crescent Moon is hanging nearby. The closely-spaced pair is as lovely as anything you will ever see in the heavens.

If you can, tear your eyes away from Venus and the Moon. Just above them hangs Saturn, a delicate yellow beauty that cries out for the attention of your telescope; even small 'scopes reveal Saturn's breathtaking rings. And above Saturn, almost directly overhead, shines Mars. It is bright, distinctly orange, and for reasons science cannot fully explain, a little hypnotic.

The stars: Too many to name!
You won't be the only one looking at the planets. Orion the Hunter is there, too, outlined in the sky by an hour-glass of first and second magnitude stars. Joining Orion is Castor, Pollux, Regulus, Aldebaran and brightest of all, Sirius, the blue-white Dog Star: sky map This stellar sprawl frames the planets in a scene guaranteed to spellbind-that is, until something comes along to break the spell.

That would be the spaceships: Space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station (ISS)
The two orbiters are due to fly over many US towns and cities on Monday morning. If things go according to plan, Discovery will undock from the ISS at 5:32 am EST (updates), which means the two ships will appear as distinct points of bright light, side-by-side, gliding together past Mars, Sirius, Orion, Venus and the Moon. Check NASA's Skywatch web site for spotting times.

What comes next may strain the credulity of some readers, but it is true. In addition to the stars, planets, spaceships and lunar close encounters, there is also an exploding comet:

Comet 17P/Holmes burst into view last week when something happened to the comet's core-a collapse, a fracture, a comet-quake? No one knows!-causing the comet to surge in brightness almost a million-fold. It is now visible to the unaided eye as an expanding fuzzball in the constellation Perseus similar in brightness to the stars of the Big Dipper. To find the comet, first face Mars and then spin around 180-degrees: sky map. It's a must-see target for backyard telescopes.

Nov. 5th: Set your alarm!

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Astronomy News from Skynightly.com

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

SKY NIGHTLY

Sky-Map Site To Show The Beauty Of The Universe To Everybody

Washington DC (SPX) Feb 01, 2007
Technological progress has altered many of the ways in which humans live, but has done little to change human beings themselves. Man has been trying to find his place in the world for thousands of years. We are still eager to understand our role in the universe and the universe itself. That is why it is hard enough to find a person who would stay indifferent or apathetic to the questions of cosmology.

ENERGY TECH PetroChina to debut Monday in Shanghai Industry welcomes fuel price hikes in China, but tensions remain CSIRO And Queensland Government To Workshop Smart Exploration Techniques Green500 List To Put Supercomputing On A Diet	CIVIL NUCLEAR Nuclear power a way to cut EU reliance on outside suppliers: Estonia Egypt seeks to head table of 'Arab nuclear family' Using Supercomputers To Make Safer Nuclear Reactors Japan nuclear operator sees red after quake
BLUE SKY A Breathable Earth Researchers Find Origin Of Breathable Atmosphere Half A Billion Years Ago Study Reveals Lakes A Major Source Of Prehistoric Methane Giant Atmospheric Waves Over Iowa	WOOD PILE Wildfire Drives Carbon Levels In Northern Forests Biodiversity said to be key to healthy forests: study Chinese loggers stripping Myanmar's ancient forests Greenpeace aims to expose Indonesian forest destruction
FARM NEWS One third of Europe's freshwater fish face extinction: IUCN Tuna fishing quota violators targeted in report Drought slashes Australian wheat crop Human-Generated Ozone Will Damage Crops	CAR TECH US military spurs robot car creations with big money race Automakers trying to turn gas-guzzlers green GM looks to China for cleaner cars VW restates record sales target on strong results from China, South America
AEROSPACE NASA sorry over air safety uproar Airbus superjumbo makes first commercial flight Airbus superjumbo takes off on first commercial flight Solar Telescope Reaches 120,000 Feet On Jumbo-Jet-Sized Balloon	NUCLEAR SPACE Nuclear Power In Space - Part 2 Nuclear Power In Space Outside View: Nuclear future in space Could NASA Get To Pluto Faster? Space Expert Says Yes - By Thinking Nuclear

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement