In spite of this simple fact of nature, I always get the question, "Is that really Jupiter?"  In fact, that's one of my most frequently asked questions.  There's even an article about that at the Sky This Month page at our website.  The fact is, Jupiter is always there on every clear night, for anyone who will trouble themselves to go outside and look.

 

    

 

Jupiter reached opposition on October 28, which it was opposite the Sun, rising in the evening just as the Sun sets.  Jupiter will now be visible in the evening sky for the rest of 2011 and until May, 2012.  During this apparition of the bright planet, Jupiter will be high in the sky ahead of the Pleiades, a bright cluster of stars.  There's no reason at all why anyone should not see Jupiter this time around, so make it a point to go outside and look! 

 

 

Preview of Astronomy Events in 2012
Folks, I'm not one to get all giddy with excitement over every little thing, and I hope you all know that I don't hype stuff needlessly, but let me just say that 2012 promises to be on the MOST EXCITING years for visual astronomy  in a long time. 

 

The blazing planet Venus returns to the evening sky in November, and will be soon be peeking out above the sunset.  Keep an eye on these celestial blowtorches as they draw closer together over the span of the winter! 

 

By March, Jupiter will be right next to Venus, and the two will be in conjunction on March 13, 2012, only 3 degrees apart (6 Moon diameters).  The really exciting part is, this pair will be very high in the sky, like a couple of dazzling UFOs visible in the evening after sunset!  The waxing crescent Moon will wander into this scene on the evening of March 26, making for a beautiful dance of the planets.

 

While Jupiter is drawing near Venus in March, the red planet Mars will reach opposition on March 3, 2012.  At this time, Mars will be at its brightest, and will blaze brighter than any of the other stars in the sky, shining with the copper color of a shiny new penny.  The Full Moon will pass Mars on March 8 at a somewhat distant 10 degrees, about 20 lunar diameters. 

 

Another interesting instance, a movie adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "John Carter of Mars" will debut on March 9, 2012, the night after the conjunction of Mars and the Moon, while the red planet is still very bright just after opposition.  So Mars will be blazing in the eastern sky as a movie based on Mars debuts!  2012 is also the 100th anniversary of the first John Carter story, so this promises to be a great celestial coincidence, for anyone who will trouble themselves to look up at the night sky. 

 

The ringed planet Saturn will reach opposition in April, and will be visible in the evening sky throughout the summer.  Interestingly, the faster-moving Mars will be overtaking the slow-moving Saturn, and they will draw closer together as the months continue. 

 

Mars and Saturn will draw close together in a conjunction on August 17, 2012, near the bright star Spica.  The Moon will pass through this cluster of objects, and they will provide another beautiful dance of the planets.

 

On May 20, 2012, there will be an annular eclipse of the Sun, visible over a portion of North America.  An annular eclipse is like a total eclipse of the Sun, except the Moon doesn't completely cover the Sun's disc, and a ring of sunlight is visible. 

 

However, most of North America will see a partial eclipse visible at sunset with the unaided eye!  This will be a very cool sight, as the orange ball of the Sun will be seen going down with a big bite taken out!  Some portion of this will be visible everywhere in the USA except the East Coast, so hundreds of millions of people are in for a treat!  The most exciting part, this annular eclipse will set the stage for the astronomy event of our lifetime....

 

The rarest event in visual astronomy is the transit of Venus, when the actual disc of the planet Venus passes in front of the Sun, appearing as a little black dot on the face of the Sun.  This rarest event will take place on June 5, 2012, and will be visible in the afternoon and at sunset over all of North America.

 

Venus transits occur in pairs, eight years apart, but transit pairs are separated by over a century!  There was a morning transit in 2004, but the previous transit pair was in 1874 and 1882!  The next transit pair will be in 2117 and 2125!

 

The exciting part about Venus Transit 2012 is that it will be visible for most of the world, except parts of Africa and South America, and visible during waking hours over the USA.  Billions of people will have the chance to observe this rarest event, along with all 350 million Americans (weather permitting, of course). 

 

It's not too early to the beat the rush and order your Classical Astronomy Eclipse Shades!  Then you can also be prepared to view the annular eclipse of May 20!  The media will be latching onto this story as the date approaches, but by then it will be too late to order Eclipse Shades, so prepare yourself in advance!  And remember, you heard it here first in the Classical Astronomy Update!

 

There will be many other visible astronomy events in 2012, including very close conjunctions of the Moon and planets, and even some occultations, where the Moon covers over the bright stars or planets. 

 

People always tell us they're not interested in our newsletter or products because "we're not studying astronomy this year."  But anyone who purposely misses out on the sky events of 2012 is denying themselves and their families a very special year full of some of the rarest sky events that will happen in their lifetimes.  So don't make that mistake!  Be prepared and make sure all your friends and family members do the same!  Keep posted through Classical Astronomy!