Sunset Siblings

Venus, the small dot near the right horizon, has taken its place as the evening star once again while the grinning crescent moon lies higher in the twilight sky. Together, they trace the path that the sun will appear to follow as it heads south towards fall and then on to winter. #venus #moon #sunContinue reading “Sunset Siblings”

Just Passing Through

Yesterday morning the Moon passed by Jupiter on its monthly trek around earth. This scene will repeat itself over the next several months as we head into fall and on towards winter. Before long, Venus will rise in the morning sky as well and provide the opportunity to see the three brightest planetary objects inContinue reading “Just Passing Through”

Grinning Again

As promised last week (“Vertical Moon” at: https://eskildoodle.com/2023/04/16/vertical-moon/ ), the evening crescent Moon is grinning once again. Just a week ago it appeared nearly vertical as it approached the Sun in the morning sky, but now it appears to lay nearly horizontal like the Cheshire Cat’s grin. The astronomical explanation for this is related toContinue reading “Grinning Again”

Ecliptic Essence

Since last night the Moon has passed by Venus and risen to side of Jupiter. In doing so it has followed the ecliptic, which is the orbital plane of the solar system and courses through the constellations of the zodiac. The ecliptic follows the plane of the protoplanetary disk from which the whole solar systemContinue reading “Ecliptic Essence”