Positions of the cosmos-lets observe

Now that you tie in the quantum mechanical concept of the role of the observer, I suddenly realize the importance of observing the skies!

I have a special treat for you. As I observed the night's sky lastnight, I was inspired to write: Royal Dance.

Thanks for sharing that-I loved the part about the offerings-

I often refer to the alignments of the spheres together as a 'dance' too

So here is a great site to see if you can get up between 4-5am. To the east, Jupiter rises in the east, then the moon follows coming in Taurus, then Mars rises in Gemini. Orion is easily seen under the three spheres. Orion will rise each morning a little earlier and soon we will be able to see Sirius, showing us a change of seasons comes.




Also notice how the bottom left part of the moon will be lit.

Some things to spark some interests for more sky watching.

Want to face the center of the galaxy? Want to observe Jupiter retrograde over the next 4 months?

Tonight or over the next few nights...one can step out at the start of dark and catch the bulge of the milky way which allows you to face the direction to the center of our galaxy. Step out around 9:30-10pm and face the south direction. You should be able to notice the milky pathway of starts in the low southern sky. You should be able to notice a 'bulge' in this milky pathway which is the center of our galaxy. To the right of this bulge, you also are facing the sign Ophiuchus.




earthsky.org...

Today’s chart is aimed toward the galaxy’s center, which is located some 30,000 light-years away. Remember, when you are looking at this starlit band across the sky – visible from country locations – you are peering edgewise into our own galaxy.

Today’s chart shows that the starlit trail of the Milky Way seems to bulge just before it reaches the southern horizon. This bulge marks the approximate location of the Milky Way’s center. This part of the Milky Way is vastly more spectacular in a dark night sky than it appears here on our chart! The constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius lie in this direction as well.

And in a few more days, Jupiter starts its retrograde. You can observe the retrograde over many nights through the next for months by comparing Jupiter's stance to the background of the other stars.

Around August 30 one can start observing this...look to the east starting around midnight for Jupiter to rise.




earthsky.org...

Because of its faster speed and shorter distance to go around its orbit, our Earth laps Jupiter about once every 13 months. It’s a lot like a fast race car in the inner track passing a slower car in the outer track. The race car analogy works well to explain a phenomenon called “retrograde motion.” Normally, an observer in the inner, faster race car (Earth) would see the slower, outer race car (Jupiter) appear to move forward (prograde motion). But as the inner car begins to approach the slower outer car before it passes it, the outer car appears to slow down as viewed against the stellar background. This is purely geometric illusion since the outer car does not actually slow down. But the outer car appears to slow down and just before the inner car passes it, it apparently reverses motion and travels backward against the “fixed” stars. Again, this is purely a geometric illusion. In astronomy, this is called “retrograde motion” and that is what Jupiter appears to start doing starting today. Technically, the moment that the planet appears to change its direction of motion is called the “stationary” point.

Right now Jupiter is in the eastern sky at middle to late evening. It’s rather high in your southern sky by daybreak. For the next several months Jupiter will appear to drift slowly westward among the stars of the constellation Aries the Ram. Because of their true motions, Jupiter and the other outer planets normally drift slowly eastward against the background of the stars. However, during this time (which ends on December 26), Jupiter appears slightly farther to the west each night. You can’t tell this from night to night with just your eyes, but if you note Jupiter’s position relative to some nearby stars, you should be able to notice it over a period of a few weeks. On the up side, Jupiter is very easy to identify – just face east at late evening tonight and look for he brightest object in the sky.

The 28th and 29th are days of 'dark moon or no moon'....you will not be able to see the moon in the night sky on these days. But know as you face the sun on those days, the moon is with the sun and will emerge back into our sights on the 30th. You may catch a glimpse of the new crescent moon in the low west horizon right after the sun sets on the 30th. If you dont catch it then, step out again on the 31st and see if you can see it. Its always a great feeling to catch the new crescent moon after it has aligned with our sun. Astronomy has given us a new definition of what new moon means...they say it is when the moon and sun are conjuncted which is the time of dark moon. I go by what the ancients called new moon...which is the sighting of the new crescent moon in the western sky after sun set. To me, its not a new moon...till you can observe it.

LV

Hello my dear friend.
I have been watching and experiencing the skies a lot more now. I have the 'Star Walk' app on my smart device, and it really helps out a lot. For the first time, I looked at Mars and knew that I was looking at Mars. It was a very "empowering" feeling. I love following our view of our brother/sister planets and the constellations.

LeoVirgo, is there anything significant that we should be aware of or observing presently or in the near future? So far I'm looking forward to June for the transit of Venus and the summer solstice.

I hope all is well with you. May Peace be with you.