This Week's Astronomy from Sky & Telescope Magazine (Superceded)

[valleygeocacher]

Posted with permission of Sky & Telescope Magazine.

It's unusual to get two bulletins in as many days, but this one came in today.

There are some advertisements in this post, left in to comply with S&T's requirement for re-posting.

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* * * SKY & TELESCOPE's SKYWATCHER'S BULLETIN - January 24, 2006 * * *

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Welcome to S&T's Skywatcher's Bulletin. More about the items below appears
on our Web site, SkyandTelescope.com, at the URLs provided. (If a link
doesn't work, just paste the URL manually into your Web browser.) Clear
skies!
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SATURN COMES TO OPPOSITION

This week (on January 27th to be exact) Saturn reaches opposition, when
it's directly on the opposite side of our sky from the Sun. This means it
rises around sunset, is highest in the south around midnight, and sets
around sunrise. This is also when it's closest to Earth and appears
largest in a telescope -- though Saturn is so far away that being near
opposition really makes little difference in its apparent size.

The planet is now high up in excellent view in the eastern sky by
midevening. There's more to Saturn and its rings than first meets the eye;
see our Observing Guide to Saturn:

http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_304_1.asp

See also our interactive map-making utility for identifying all of
Saturn's moons that are visible in your telescope:

http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_1136_1.asp

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SATURN OCCULTS A FAINT STAR

For observers in Europe, Africa, and Asia, an 8.2-magnitude star (SAO
98054) will be occulted by (passes behind) Saturn's ring system starting
at about 18:45 Universal Time January 25th. The star reappears out from
behind the planet itself around 20:55 UT.

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VENUS EMERGES LOW IN THE DAWN

After passing inferior conjunction on January 13-14, Venus is now coming
back into view very low in the east-southeast during dawn. A small
telescope will show that Venus is a thin crescent -- just like the waning
Moon low in the southeast on the mornings of the 25th, 26th, and 27th. See
the scene around these dates:

http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance

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STEP DEEPER INTO ASTRONOMY

Do you have a toe in amateur astronomy, but are not quite sure how to wade
in deeper? See our guideposts marking the path to success:

http://SkyandTelescope.com/howto/basics/article_260_1.asp

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SKY AT A GLANCE

Mars and Saturn both shine in the evening sky, though Mars is getting
tiny. The evening is moonless this week for deep-sky observing; the Moon
is new on the 29th. Bright Jupiter shines in the southeast to south in
early dawn, an excellent time for telescopic planet viewing. See This
Week's Sky at a Glance:

http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance

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Copyright 2006 Sky Publishing Corp. S&T's Skywatcher's Bulletin is a free
service from the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine. This bulletin may
not be redistributed or republished in any form without written permission
from Sky Publishing; send e-mail to [email protected] or
call +1 617-864-7360 ext. 145.

Much more to see and do with the unaided eye, binoculars, or a telescope
is on our Web site at:

http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing

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[valleygeocacher]

Astronomy Students: Tonight's the night. Science Channel Life of a Comet 8P.M. I believe.