Sky Watch-December 24th, 2008

It's Christmas Eve and I am in pain because I ate tooooo much! I am sure I am not the only one suffering from the evils of well-meaning relatives who enjoy stuffing others full of food. Since many of you may not be able to handle a hike, but can surely waddle outside and look up, here is what the night sky should look like. You can see Mercury, Venus and Jupiter if you look toward the Southwest around 40 minutes after sunset. Get outside for a bit and enjoy!

Alien Encounter or Space Shuttle ??!!

While visiting Goose Pond Sunday, Don Gorney noticed a large satellite-like object moving across the sky. He remarked that it might be the space shuttle. I joked that it might be aliens.

And, sure enough, it was aliens! No, not really. Don went home and confirmed it was the space shuttle and station. Here in Indianapolis, there are a few more opportunities to view it. Click on the link below to find out the times to view the shuttle.

http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/view.cgi?country=United_States&region=Indiana&city=Indianapolis

Do you live in another area? You can click this link and put in your country, state, and city and find the best viewing times. Just go under the heading Sighting Opportunities on the left side of the screen and put in your location.

http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/

While out there at Goose Pond, where there is very little light pollution, we grabbed the opportunity and looked at some of the other stars and planets in the sky. Don shared this great website, Sky and Telescope, that describes what one can see in the sky each night. This week, Jupiter and Venus are almost in alignment. Click on the link below to see what is happening in the night sky each week.

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance/

Happy viewing and Happy Thanksgiving!