A Year of Great Astronomy Observing!
By JC Willette

According to what I have been reading and hearing, this year is going to be the BIGGEST for astronomers world-wide!!! If you are ever going buy that telescope...now is a good time to do it so you won’t miss out on the great sites to come. Here is a synopsis of what is to come this year.

January finds Saturn just past opposition so it rises in the east at sundown and sets in the west at sunrise. Saturn is near its closest to the earth and the rings are at their greatest tilt. A special sight that will remain for a lifetime for the first time observer.

February finds Jupiter at opposition rising in the east at sunset and will be the brightest star (not actually a star but the brightest object) at that time. Binoculars will reveal Jupiter’s four moons and maybe a band or two.

March is a time to relax and digest what has happened in January and February.

April will find the largest full moon of the year as it will be the closest to earth on the 16th.

May finds the year’s first lunar eclipse.

June - July finds the moon and Mars in conjunction. The earth is also at aphelion, the farthest from the sun.

August finds Mars the closest to the earth in 73,000 years. This has to be an awesome site for those of us who were hoping to glimpse at it a few years ago only to be foiled by the great dust storm on Mars!

September - October is another time to digest what we have seen in the previous months.

November finds us with the second lunar eclipse of the year. Our famous ASNLV Leonid Meteor Shower Party will find us looking at the Leonids again this year. Although not as spectacular as the last two years, it will peak in the morning with 15 or better meteors per hour.

December brings us a sight that is rare...Venus shines brightly in the western skies just after sunset on Christmas day beside a crescent moon.

Until later - keep your eye on the sky!