CentaurZ

When July begins, both Jupiter and Saturn will be rising about an hour after sunset. Jupiter will appear in opposition from the Sun during the night of July 13-14. Saturn will do so during the night of July 19-20. On their opposition dates they will appear out all night. On December 21 the two will appear to have an angular separation of only 6.1 arcminutes, the narrowest since 1623 and until 2080. However, those separations are not small enough for Jupiter to occult Saturn. The last such occultation occurred in 6857 BC, while the next two will both occur during 7541. Conjunctions between the two occur about every 20 years. That’s their mutual synodic (lapping) period with a mean value of 19.86 years. Sometimes the conjunctions are triple due to the effect of apparent retrograde motion, but not this time. Photos and descriptions of Jupiter, Saturn and their natural satellites would be welcome additions to this thread.

The Lunar X may be seen by telescopic observers in the Americas during the evening of Saturday 2020 JUN 27 for an approximately four-hour period centered on 22:23 CDT (JUN 28 – 03:23 UT). The X should appear as the Sun rises on the clustered rims of the craters Blanchinus, La Caille and Purbach, while a waxing Half Moon graces the sky. This is something to check-off from your astronomical “to-do” list. Photos and descriptions of the Lunar X would be welcome additions to this thread.

It’s nearly time for my monthly New Moon spotting challenge. I use the term New Moon in its classical sense of one’s first sighting of the Moon after its monthly solar conjunction (Dark Moon). Sharp-eyed observers may attempt to spot the less than one-day-old Moon after sunset on Sunday, June 21st. Photos and descriptions of the young crescent Moon late this month would be welcome additions to this thread.

Yet this occultation was predicted quite precisely many decades ago. 🧐

Back then I didn't have an accurate watch, so it was hard to tell. 😉

Six arcminutes of separation? Come on, that's rather unimpressive compared with an actual occultation. 😉 Apparently a few of you were not paying attention when Jupiter last occulted Saturn in 6857 BC. No problem really. You’ll get two more opportunities, both in the year 7541. Just keep eating your Wheaties. 😃 Below is my rendering of the most recent occultation of Saturn by Jupiter in case you missed it. Of course Saturn was actually behind Jupiter as many of you would have seen, but I’ve pushed Saturn to the front through the artifice of X-ray vision.

Asteroid 7 Iris currently rises in the evening as the sky darkens. It will appear within Sagittarius in opposition to the Sun on 2020 JUN 28 at magnitude +8.9. Iris is a stony asteroid with a mean diameter of 199 km. It was discovered in 1847. Photos and descriptions of Iris would be welcome additions to this thread.

Here it is. Confirmation of my timings would be appreciated. 😀

Brilliant Venus has commenced its apparition in the predawn eastern sky following its inferior conjunction between Earth and Sun on 2020 JUN 03. It will become its brightest in early July and its highest in early September. Photos and descriptions of Venus during this apparition would be welcome additions to this thread.

I might add that before sunrise the event will be fully visible in portions of Canada near the Atlantic, and as an emersion in New England.

LOL. 😃 Of course you were quite right to to provide a heads-up in this forum as soon as you were aware. You are to be saluted. I created my graphics months ago, but was waiting to post until the event time came nearer. The event is not Earth-shattering, but is worth taking the time to watch, as it occurs infrequently for observers at specific locations. What's especially unusual is for Venus to appear as a crescent during an occultation. It may seem unfortunate for the occultation to occur during the daytime in Eurasia, but that's the usual case with the inferior planets.

You beat me to it by hours, Captain; nevertheless I'll post what I had already written. ______________________________________________________________________________ The 4% illuminated waning crescent Moon will occult (cover) magnitude -3.8 crescent Venus on Friday 2020 JUN 19. Before sunrise the event will be fully visible in portions of Canada near the Atlantic, and as an emersion in New England. This will be visible to observers in much of Eurasia including the British Isles. However, it will happen during the daytime. A telescope or binoculars will likely be necessary. Take care to avoid aiming at the Sun. The immersion will occur on the lunar bright limb, with emersion on the dark limb. Any observers on the graze path can witness an interrupted Venus appearing to pass through lunar hills and valleys. Those north of the only graze path will see a full occultation. Photos and descriptions of the occultation would be welcome additions to my similar thread in the forum for Observing-Lunar. If you would like specific occultation or graze predictions for your location, please reply in my other thread with your longitude, latitude, elevation and time zone. Details for observers in London:

The 4% illuminated waning crescent Moon will occult (cover) magnitude -3.8 crescent Venus on Friday 2020 JUN 19. Before sunrise the event will be fully visible in portions of Canada near the Atlantic, and as an emersion in New England. This will be visible to observers in much of Eurasia including the British Isles. However, it will happen there during the daytime. A telescope or binoculars will likely be necessary. Take care to avoid aiming at the Sun. The immersion will occur on the lunar bright limb, with emersion on the dark limb. Any observers on the graze path can witness an interrupted Venus appearing to pass through lunar hills and valleys. Those north of the only graze path will see a full occultation. Photos and descriptions of the occultation would be welcome additions to this thread. If you would like specific occultation or graze predictions for your location, please reply to this post with your longitude, latitude, elevation and time zone. Details for observers in London:

It’s nearly time for my monthly New Moon spotting challenge. I use the term New Moon in its classical sense of one’s first sighting of the Moon after its monthly solar conjunction (Dark Moon). Sharp-eyed observers may attempt to spot the over one-day-old Moon after sunset on Saturday, May 23rd. Photos and descriptions of the young crescent Moon late this month would be welcome additions to this thread.

Elusive Mercury has commenced its apparition in the western sky after sunset following its superior conjunction behind the Sun on 2020 MAY 04. Photos and descriptions of Mercury during this apparition would be welcome additions to this thread.

The annual Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower is already underway. It is expected to peak during the nights of 2019 MAY 04-05 & 05-06, but for as many as three nights on either side the rate should be near the peak. Its radiant is in the constellation Aquarius. That is the direction toward which the meteor tails point, but the meteors are equally likely to appear anywhere in your sky. The Eta Aquariids are debris from the famous Comet Halley. The Eta Aquariids usually produce about fifty meteors per hour for sharp eyed observers in the southern hemisphere. Expectations are somewhat lessened for northern hemisphere observers due to Aquarius being a southern constellation. The show begins after midnight when Aquarius rises. It will continue through morning twilight. The waxing gibbous Moon during the peak this year may provide some interference until it sets. Descriptions of the shower or perhaps even lucky photos would be welcome additions to this thread.

The Lunar X may be seen by telescopic observers in the Americas during the evening of Wednesday 2020 APR 29 for an approximately four-hour period centered on 22:31 CDT (APR 30 – 03:31 UT). The X should appear as the Sun rises on the clustered rims of the craters Blanchinus, La Caille and Purbach, while a waxing nearly Half Moon graces the sky. This is something to check-off from your astronomical “to-do” list. Photos and descriptions of the Lunar X would be welcome additions to this thread.

Mile-wide Asteroid 52768 (1998 OR2) is expected to pass Earth by only 0.0421 AU on 2020 APR 29 at 09.59 UT (04.59 CDT). The estimated greatest brilliance by JPL is magnitude +10.8 on MAY 01. Photos and descriptions of the asteroid would be welcome additions to this thread.

It’s nearly time for my monthly New Moon spotting challenge. I use the term New Moon in its classical sense of one’s first sighting of the Moon after its monthly solar conjunction (Dark Moon). Sharp-eyed observers may attempt to spot the one-day-old Moon after sunset on April 23rd. Photos and descriptions of the young crescent Moon late this month would be welcome additions to this thread.

What is your estimate of its current magnitude?

What is your estimate of its current magnitude?

Comet C/2020 F8 SWAN was discovered on March 25 by use of the SWAN camera aboard a European satellite. Based on JPL orbital elements, I calculate that its magnitude will peak at +8.9 on May 15. Although comet brightness predictions can vary significantly from eventual readings. Below are two charts that I created. Photos and descriptions of the comet would be welcome additions to this thread.

The annual Lyrid Meteor Shower may already be underway. It is expected to peak during the night of 2020 APR 21-22. Its radiant is in the constellation Lyra near the bright star Vega. That is the direction toward which the meteor tails point, but the meteors are equally likely to appear anywhere in your sky. The Lyrids are debris from the long period Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher. They have been observed for the past 2700 years, longer than any other meteor shower. The Lyrids typically present about 20 meteors per hour for sharp eyed observers, although this has varied considerably with 700 per hour seen in 1803. The show begins after Lyra rises, which is in the early evening for mid-latitude northern hemisphere observers, but much later in the southern hemisphere. It will continue through morning twilight. The Moon will be in its Dark phase during the peak this year, thus providing no interference around that time. Reduced road traffic due to the pandemic should provide clearer than usual skies. Descriptions of the shower or perhaps even lucky photos would be welcome additions to this thread.