![]() ![]() For example in Miami, where sunrise is at 7:01 a.m., Mercury will be about 10 degrees high by about 6:30 a.m. It's important to be very careful when observing planets close to the sun looking through any kind of optical aid such as binoculars or a long camera lens can result in permanent damage and even blindness if one accidentally points them near the sun itself.Īs one moves further south Mercury gets higher. 6 the sun comes up at 7:02 a.m., so with the right conditions one might be able to see it before it gets lost in the solar glare, but a half hour before sunrise the planet is only 5 degrees high. Keen-eyed observers with a clear eastern horizon can try and catch Mercury, which rises at 5:48 a.m. Venus is an "evening star" but will be largely lost in the solar glare at sunset. Mars, meanwhile, is just west of the northern horizon, below Aldebaran (as opposed to above it as in the Northern skies). Jupiter is 14 degrees high just north of the western horizon. Aldebaran will be (from the Northern Hemisphere) below Mars and a paler orange-white, compared with Mars which usually appears much more red.įrom austral latitudes Mars and Jupiter will also be prominent but lower in the sky the sun sets in Melbourne at 8:29 Feb. ![]() is more than two thirds of the way to the zenith at 73 degrees high almost due south one will see it paired with another reddish star, Aldebaran, in Taurus. Jupiter is bright enough that even from city locations it is distinct. If Venus has set one can find Jupiter by looking for the bright, yellow-white "star" to the right as one faces due south (putting the sunset on your right). local time Jupiter is in the southwest, at an altitude of about 26 degrees, and the planet will set by 9:29 p.m. Above and to the left of Venus is Jupiter. Venus is bright it may well be one of the first "stars" to come out. local time one can see Venus about 14 degrees high in the west-southwest. On the evening of the full moon, observers in the mid-northern latitudes will see Jupiter and Mars in the sky towards the south. (Image credit: Starry Night Software) Visible planets While the phase of the moon doesn't depend on the observer's location, the apparent position of the moon in the sky does the moon is close enough to Earth that an observer in Melbourne and other in London will see an appreciable difference in the moon's position against the background stars.Īn illustration of the full Snow Moon as it will appear on Sunday (Feb. 4, The difference in date has to do with the moon's altitude and one's longitude. (While the solar system planets also move against the background stars, the difference in position from one day to the next is too small to have this effect).įrom New York City, on Feb. Essentially, the moon takes about 25 hours to make a complete circuit of the sky, whereas other celestial bodies take 24. In a 24-hour day, it moves about 13 degrees. This happens because the moon (against the background stars) appears to move approximately one of its own diameters every hour. One interesting phenomenon, unique to the moon, is that there are days just ahead of the full moon when the moon doesn't cross the meridian, the line in the sky drawn from due north to south that goes through the zenith. We also have guides to the best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography if you need to gear up for this or other celestial events. If you're interested in taking photographs of the full Snow Moon, check out our helpful how to photograph the moon guide for the best lunar photography tips and tricks. If one waits a few days after the full moon or observes a few days before, shadows bring out more detail. That said, moon filters are available that can make some features stand out. ![]() That is because there are no shadows - we are seeing the lunar surface at noontime on the moon, so the sun (from the perspective of a person standing on the moon) is directly overhead. While an easy target for binoculars or small telescopes, full moons can be almost disappointing - the moon is so bright that the surface loses contrast. Looking for a telescope to see the features of the full moon up close? We recommend the Celestron Astro Fi 102 (opens in new tab) as the top pick in our best beginner's telescope guide. Don't forget a moon filter! ![]()
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