Results tagged “planets”

As we mentioned last week, Jupiter reached opposition last Friday. At this point, the Sun and Jupiter are on opposite sides of the Earth (like when the Moon is full), making it the brightest it ever appears in the sky. Since it's only a couple days off, it should still be a distinctly bright spot rising at sunset and lasting all night.

Missed last weekend's shiny appearance of the International Space Station in the nighttime sky? No worries -- there's plenty more to tilt your head northward for in the next couple of weeks: namely, planets! The Post has the rundown, beginning with Jupiter -- which will really steal the show, hopping around the celestial canvas all month. D.C. residents can watch the largest planet in the Solar System ascend the eastern sky on the 14th, and find it dancing with a full moon on the 5th and 6th. Saturn also has some funky stuff going on: it is the halfway point for Saturn's orbit around the sun, and as such, its massive rings will appear totally flat from our vantage point on Earth. The report says that August 15th will probably be your best shot to see this transition (and hey, look for Mercury that night, while you're at it.) Venus and Mars are also highly visible this month. And if that's not enough, there will also be a meteor shower on the 11th. Got a nice, tranquil place to enjoy the movement of gigantic bodies through space? Let us know in the comments.

Reader Mike Eisenhut sent us this photo yesterday (knowing this writer's predilection for space stuff) of Jupiter and Venus glowing brightly behind the Washington Monument. That's Venus just to the left, about halfway up the Monument, and Jupiter to its upper left.