Tonight, Mars will be about as close to the Earth as we’ll see it in the next few years. That means it will be especially large and bright in the eyepiece. Honestly, if we miss tonight, it will appear about the same for the next few weeks, but it’s fun to see it this near in time to its closest approach to Earth (which is on Memorial Day). Saturn is also especially close and bright, with its rings at an especially pretty tilt this year, so we we’re eager to see them again. At 10:00pm, the Great Red Spot transits Jupiter. It will easily be visible for several hours before and after. All told, a great night for planetary astronomy, if only one understands the weather.
Tonight, sometime after 8:00pm, but before 11:00pm, the clouds are supposed to clear. The transparency at that time will be horrific and the dewing will be terrible, but the seeing will be about as good as it gets in our region, and we have hair driers to clear our optics. This means, oddly, that unless the weather changes (as is not unknown in these parts!) this is a great night for a planetary star party!
See you at Brower Observatory tonight, Saturday, May 28, 2016, at 9:00pm. Earlier setup welcome.
326 Route 126, North Whitefield, ME 04353
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