Derrick H.Pitts, Sc.D
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Cool Astronomer:
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Explore Your Universe
Getting to know your universe is much easier than you might think. All you have to do is look up, look out into space, and find out about what interests you! You can start with any object, any topic, any question. The Cool Astronomer's Universe will help you follow your interest into the cosmos. Got A Question? Cool Astronomer's Universe is your sky guide and astronomy information source where you'll find: understandable descriptions, observing advice you can use today, and Cool Astronomer-approved astronomy products. Matching your astronomy interest and curiosity. It's YOUR universe - explore it! |
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What's That?
Every human who ever existed has looked up and wondered what that bright object might be. Galileo, Herschel, Einstein, Rubin, Sagan, they all had to be introduced to the night sky. While there are plenty of stars and 88 constellations to see, the brightest objects - the Moon and Planets - are easy and fun to watch.
To find them, look for them by their brightness, listed here in order from most bright to least bright:
The Moon
By far, the moon is the most obvious and easiest object to follow. We see the moon because it reflects light from the Sun. Just like Earth half of Earth experiences daylight while the other half sees night, so does the moon. When we see the moon in the sky, we see the part illuminated by sunlight. As the moon orbits earth, we see more or less of the part lit by the Sun. Learn more about the Moon here: moon.nasa.gov/moon-observation/daily-moon-guide/
Venus
Venus is our next door planet, about 30 million miles closer to the Sun. It's about the same size as Earth but completely covered in clouds that reflect sunlight. Venus appears very bright and ice white. It's the brightest astronomical object you'll see in the sky except the Moon. No other object can appear this bright. If you see an object brighter than any others and the color is ice white, it's Venus! Learn more about Venus here: solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/venus/overview/
Jupiter
As the biggest planet of our solar system, we might expect Jupiter to be the brightest object visible, but it's over 400 million miles away. That makes it look smaller and slightly dimmer than Venus. When seen in the sky together, Jupiter's creamy, off-white color gives it away. Learn more about Jupiter here: solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/jupiter/overview/
Mars
Mars' distinctive rosy color makes it easy to pick out even though it's smaller than Jupiter. The size makes it a bit of a sighting challenge the first time you look for it, but once you locate it, you'll pick it out every time! Learn more about Mars here: mars.nasa.gov/
Saturn
Twice as far as Jupiter, Saturn's famous rings need serious magnification to be seen. Slightly dimmer than Jupiter, Saturn is still easily visible because it's about the same size as Jupiter and reflects a lot of light from the Sun. Learn more about Saturn here: solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/saturn/overview/
To find them, look for them by their brightness, listed here in order from most bright to least bright:
The Moon
By far, the moon is the most obvious and easiest object to follow. We see the moon because it reflects light from the Sun. Just like Earth half of Earth experiences daylight while the other half sees night, so does the moon. When we see the moon in the sky, we see the part illuminated by sunlight. As the moon orbits earth, we see more or less of the part lit by the Sun. Learn more about the Moon here: moon.nasa.gov/moon-observation/daily-moon-guide/
Venus
Venus is our next door planet, about 30 million miles closer to the Sun. It's about the same size as Earth but completely covered in clouds that reflect sunlight. Venus appears very bright and ice white. It's the brightest astronomical object you'll see in the sky except the Moon. No other object can appear this bright. If you see an object brighter than any others and the color is ice white, it's Venus! Learn more about Venus here: solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/venus/overview/
Jupiter
As the biggest planet of our solar system, we might expect Jupiter to be the brightest object visible, but it's over 400 million miles away. That makes it look smaller and slightly dimmer than Venus. When seen in the sky together, Jupiter's creamy, off-white color gives it away. Learn more about Jupiter here: solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/jupiter/overview/
Mars
Mars' distinctive rosy color makes it easy to pick out even though it's smaller than Jupiter. The size makes it a bit of a sighting challenge the first time you look for it, but once you locate it, you'll pick it out every time! Learn more about Mars here: mars.nasa.gov/
Saturn
Twice as far as Jupiter, Saturn's famous rings need serious magnification to be seen. Slightly dimmer than Jupiter, Saturn is still easily visible because it's about the same size as Jupiter and reflects a lot of light from the Sun. Learn more about Saturn here: solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/saturn/overview/
FOLLOW ME AROUND THE WORLD
Last June, I spent two days at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ, where I worked with the UK's Garden.tv to film a number of segments for a new program describing Mars. The first shots of the day were of me entering the Clark Refractor building where I spent a good deal of time just taking in the immensity, grandeur, and beauty of this iconic, late 19th century instrument of science. Here I am sitting at the 'business end' of the scope just after describing how Perceival Lowell's observations and reports on Mars became the spark that fired the imagination for nearly four generations of science fiction writers. It's not that sci-fi wasn't written before Lowell's work, but his wild imagination, envisioning 'canals' as waterways of commerce connecting Martian cities, pushed others to expand wildly on his fanciful ideas about Mars.
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I'm standing on the catwalk of the 4 meter Canada-France-Hawaii telescope atop Mauna Kea volcano facing west. Ahead of me overlooking the cloud deck over the Big Island, are the 8m Subaru telescope(l), the twin 10m Keck telescopes(m), and the 4m UK Infrared Telescope(r). For me, this is one of my coolest experiences ever. A dream come true!
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