Look to the west after sunset tonight to see Venus, Jupiter and the moon converge on a tiny patch of sky. The three objects, now easily the brightest things in the sky (other than the sun, of course), will be closest together on the evening of Monday, Dec. 1.
November and December, West Michigan’s two cloudiest months, are not the best times for stargazing. You might have to steal a glance through gaps in the clouds. But you only need a partly clear sky to see part of the sky, so don’t give up hope.
Presently, the sun is setting in Grand Haven at 5:11 pm, according to data provided by the US Naval Observatory. On Monday, Venus, Jupiter and the thin, crescent moon will set at about 8:30 pm, giving a three-hour window to catch a glimpse of their alignment.
It is worthwhile to note at this time of year that while meteorologically, winter is just beginning, astronomically, we’ve just about reached winter’s greatest depth. The shortest day of the year is in just a few more weeks, on Dec. 21, the winter solstice. So if you’re a sun-loving person, you can look forward to longer days and more sun.
But we don’t even have to wait until the winter solstice to see more of the sun. In early December, about two weeks before the first day of winter, we reach the date of the earliest sunset. The earliest sunset in Grand Haven is shortly after 5:10 pm on or about Dec. 8. The sunset time will steadily march later and later, after that, reaching 5:20 pm by the end of December, almost 6 pm by the end of January, and about 6:30 pm by the end of February.
In case you’re wondering why the date of earliest sunset doesn’t coincide with the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, I can only point you to the best explanation I’ve found (from the US Naval Observatory FAQ): http://tinyurl.com/5q5odz. It’s pretty complicated, but interesting.
There is another thing you might want to keep an eye out for next week. Did you hear about the small tool kit that was dropped accidentally from the International Space Station? Observers from around the world are reporting seeing this tool kit from the ground with nothing more than a pair of binoculars.
The flyaway toolkit near ISS (image courtesy NASA).
You can read more about the flyaway tool kit, and get predictions concerning when and where to look to see it, and the ISS, at http://spaceweather.com.
The tool kit is spiraling downward into thicker and thicker atmosphere, and is expected to crash and burn in a year or so. The lower something orbits earth, the faster it moves, so for now, the tool kit is visible as a pinpoint of light flying a few minutes ahead of the ISS. The ISS and tool kit make several favorable passes over West Michigan beginning on Dec. 5. For ISS and the toolkit sighting opportunities from Grand Haven visit http://spaceweather.com/flybys/) and enter our zip code.
This column originally appeared in the Grand Haven Tribune on 28 November 2008.
