Attention Skywatchers, Great Views Of The Planets Coming Your Way.

We deffinitely are going to have some great things to view astronomically this year with the transit of Venus across the disk of the Sun this summer, along with eclipses and great planetary views. As some have noticed already, Venus and Jupiter are shining brightly in the evening skies. Well it only gets better from there.

science.nasa.gov...

Feb. 17, 2012: Note to sky watchers: Put on your winter coats. What you’re about to read might make you feel an uncontrollable urge to dash outside.

The brightest planets in the solar system are lining up in the evening sky, and you can see the formation—some of it at least—tonight.

Go out at sunset and look west. Venus and Jupiter pop out of the twilight even before the sky fades completely black. The two brilliant planets surrounded by evening blue is a beautiful sight.

Heres a good one to remember.

A special night to look is Saturday, Feb. 25th, when the crescent Moon moves in to form a slender heavenly triangle with Venus, Jupiter and the Moon as vertices.

Mars is also beginning to shine brightly again and can bee seen rising in the western sky after dark.


Mercury will be shining this week for ome viewers as well.

www.space.com...

And for those living in the Northern Hemisphere, we're about to move into a very fine "window of opportunity" for seeing Mercury in the evening sky. That window, which will open on Feb. 22 and close after March 12, will provide several good opportunities to see this so-called "elusive planet" with your own eyes.

reply to post by usmc0311


Cant wait for some pics or a vid to come out. I had to work so I missed this s

You should still be able to look up and see Uranus and Venus, i see them till about 8 or 9pm, maybe even later (i never timed when i couldnt see them either),
It is pretty, venus is bright as hell!

I wish I could afford aTelescope,it must be magical to see them with your own eyes hanging in the sky.

reply to post by usmc0311


I just wish that we weren't in the "Grey Season" around here...It messes up so much sky watching...

I remember last year seeing a spectacular alignment of mercury, Venus, Jupiter and mars. And for months now I have been watching Venus and Jupiter every night with mars showing up recently. Very impressive.

Build your own Newtonian...reply to post by paperface


You can afford one I bet...i thought it was great seeing this post...i am awaiting my plans now!!!

I'll be out this week with the telescope hoping for clear skies. I will make sure to get some good pics of the crescent moon between the two and post them on here.

Thanks for the Info. I have recently moved from Michigan to Florida and I can say that the stars look a little bit "brighter here".

I have been able to see things a lot clearer and Mars is one of them. It's so much brighter now, not just because of my move, but overall. I can't wait to see what more we have in store for us this year.

reply to [


Had a window of mostly clear sky just after sunset and managed to tag this one...

edit on 20-2-2012 by mjp54 because: Deleted photo...a newbie messes up...