Star Trak: February 2025
January’s planet lineup continues into February, and perhaps the weather will be a tad warmer than the cold evenings we had in January. Take advantage of warmer weather to enjoy the planetary parade in the evening sky.
Star Trak
With Thanks to Hal Kibbey and Star Trak
Many of our friends and colleagues have enjoyed Hal Kibbey’s Star Trak column on our website. Star Trak has been deeply appreciated by the community, our students, and the Astronomy department – always our go-to source of what to expect in the sky in the coming month!
Star Trak: January 2025
Bloomington, Ind. - This January is an exciting month for planet-watchers. Lined up across the sky, from east to west are Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus.
Star Trak: December 2024
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Jupiter will make its best appearance in a decade for northern observers in December. Joining the giant planet in late evening will be Mars. Saturn will be visible in the early evening, along with Venus soon after sunset. Mercury will make a fine morning appearance.
Star Trak: November 2024
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Throughout the first half of November Mercury will hug the southwest horizon. On Nov. 1 the planet will be 2 degrees high a half hour after sunset, and a week later it will be 4 degrees above the horizon at the same time. After that it will begin to dim rapidly, and by month's end it will be lost from view.
Star Trak: October 2024
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Mercury and Venus will be low in the western evening sky in October. Mercury will take some effort to see, but brilliant Venus will not be hard to find. Saturn and Jupiter will rise in that order before midnight. Mars will become a bright object in the predawn sky, standing high in the east.
Star Trak: September 2024
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Saturn will be visible all night in September, rising soon after sunset. It will reach opposition on Sept. 8 and will be in the constellation Aquarius. By month's end it will reach this point two hours earlier. Telescopes of any size will reveal its ring system. The apparent tilt of the rings will increase to 5 degrees. Titan, Saturn's largest moon, will be an easy target for small telescopes.
Star Trak: August 2024
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The annual Perseid meteor shower happens on warm summer nights, when gazing at the sky is a pleasure. This year the Perseids will peak on the night of Aug. 12-13. The moon will set around midnight, so moonlight will not interfere with observing meteors. In a clear sky there will be hours of dark viewing.
Star Trak: July 2024
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The shorter nights of summer will still offer a variety of sights for skywatchers.Mercury and Venus, the two innermost planets, will put on an evening show in July. Try to spot them soon after sunset.
Star Trak: June 2024
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The pre-dawn June sky will show a string of six planets along the ecliptic. In order of increasing elongation from the sun, they will be Jupiter, Mercury, Uranus, Mars, Neptune, and Saturn. Several will be visible to the unaided eye, but Uranus and Neptune will both require binoculars to spot.
Star Trak: May 2024
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Saturn will be the first planet to appear in the predawn sky in May, rising before 4 a.m. for viewers in the Northern Hemisphere. It will climb higher before dawn as the month progresses. On May 1 it will stand 11 degrees high in the east an hour before sunrise, and this will increase to 26 degrees by month's end.
Star Trak: April 2024
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – A total eclipse of the sun will be visible April 8 along a narrow path spanning North America from southwest to northeast. Most people across the United States will see a partial eclipse, but millions of observers will travel to see the spectacle of the sun's corona surrounding the black disk of the moon. Extensive information about events surrounding the eclipse can be found in the April 2024 issue of Astronomy magazine.
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