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file photo Movie 2001 Space Odyssey
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, yesterday, NASA successfully launched its Europa Clipper spacecraft as part of a $5.2 billion mission aimed at detecting conditions for life on Europa, one of Jupiter’s 95 moons. This ambitious mission marks NASA’s first return to Jupiter since 2011 and is the result of a long-term partnership with SpaceX.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, look up in the sky on June 3. Get ready for a spectacular celestial event! A “planet parade” is set to take place, where six planets will appear to align in the sky near dawn. However, only three of these planets will be visible to the naked eye. Despite sounding extraordinary, such alignments are more common than you might think.
Continue reading Upcoming Planet Parade: How to Catch a Glimpse of Six Planets at Dawn
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, NASA’s Juno spacecraft has revealed that Jupiter’s iconic Great Red Spot extends hundreds of miles into the planet. The storm’s diameter is about 10,000 miles wide and between 186 and 310 miles deep. It is so large that the Juno spacecraft was able to measure the small perturbations in gravity produced by the storm as it passed over. These gravity signals were combined with previous microwave measurements to calculate the depth of the storm. While the storm is deep, it is not nearly as deep as some of the surrounding jet streams which extend up to 1,800 miles into the planet.
Photo Credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, according to NASA , Jupiter and Saturn have been traveling across the sky together all year, but this month, get ready for them to really put on a show. Over the first three weeks of December, watch each evening as the two planets get closer in the sky than they’ve appeared in two decades. Look for them low in the southwest in the hour after sunset. And on December 21st, the two giant planets will appear just a tenth of a degree apart – that’s about the thickness of a dime held at arm’s length! This means the two planets and their moons will be visible in the same field of view through binoculars or a small telescope. In fact, Saturn will appear as close to Jupiter as some of Jupiter’s moons.
This event is called a “great conjunction.” These occur every 20 years this century as the orbits of Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn periodically align making these two outer planets appear close together in our nighttime sky. Even so, this is the “greatest” great conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn for the next 60 years, with the two planets not appearing this close in the sky until 2080.
Iris Hermosillo
8:37 AM, Jan 18, 2016
Get ready for a spectacular sight in our skies this week.
For the first time since 2005, the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will all be visible at the same time.
According to EarthSky.org , the 5 planets will be visible just before dawn starting Wednesday, January 20, 2016.
Set your alarms early as Mercury, which is the fifth planet to join the group, is set to rise just before 6:50 a.m. on Wednesday.
Our sunrise that day happens at 7:32 a.m.
Over the past week, you may have noticed what appear to be two superbright stars near the horizon. Those aren’t stars; they’re planets in a celestial race around the sun. On Tuesday, Venus will come neck-and-neck with Jupiter.
That day, at 2:17 pm Universal Time or 10:17 am E.T., the two planets will be at their closest. You can see this unusual sight, known as a conjunction, from just about anywhere in the world.
The optimal viewing location, according to Jackie Faherty, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, is one where where the sun sets just as the planets approach one another. Complete darkness is not necessary to see these bright objects, but it helps.
Regardless of where you are, your viewing instructions are simple: At sunset, get away from buildings or trees that might block your view of the western sky. Stick an arm out, give a thumbs up, and squint your eyes. Venus and Jupiter should be about one third of a degree, or about a thumb’s width, apart.
