Planetary Roundup 

     Evening Planets:  Venus, Jupiter, Mars

     Morning Planets: Mars, Saturn

 Sunset: 5:16 PM EST                      Sunrise: 7:20 AM EST

Apparent Magnitude (Mag.) is how bright an object will appear to us. Below are examples of magnitudes for some of the popular / well known objects in the sky to better give you a comparison as to how bright each of the planets will be.  The more negative the number the brighter the object.

Apparent Magnitude Reference Scale
    6.00                    Faintest our eyes alone can detect
    2.02                    North Star Polaris
    0.58                    Star Betelgeuse of Orion the Hunter
    - 1.46                  Star Sirius of Canis Major the Big Dog, brightest star in night sky
    - 12.6                  Full Moon
    - 26.7                  Sun

Lunar Calendar

Lunar Encounters

  February 9 - Nearly full moon positioned to the right of of Mars (East, after sunset)

  February 22 - Extremely thin crescent moon to the right of Mercury (West, after sunset)

  February 24 - Thin crescent moon to the lower right of Venus (West, after sunset)

  February 25 - Crescent moon located to the upper right Venus (West, after sunset) 
 
  February 26 -Crescent moon to the right of Jupiter (West, after sunset)  

 International Space Station Sightings

Did you know that you can spot the International Space Station from your very own backyard without the aid of a telescope?  Click on the icon for listing for the Lancaster, PA area.

Or visit the following for additonal ISS sightings: 

Heavens Above (need to log in as guest or can create your own user account to save your location settings)

NASA Human Space Flight (only provides predictions representing 2 weeks at a time)

When is the ISS visible?

Through February 5 - MORNING hours

February 6 - 9 - Not visible 

February 10 through March 5  - EVENING hours 

March 6 through March 14 - Not visible  

Clear Sky Clock

At a glance, this astronomer's forecast shows when it will be cloudy or clear for up to two days.  It's a prediction of when Lancaster, PA will have good weather for astronomical observing.   Click on the actual clear sky chart for detailed information in how to read it.  For example, dark blue for cloud cover means clear skies but there is more to good observing conditions than just cloud cover.

 Franklin & Marshall College's Grundy Observatory

• Open every third Monday of each month, weather permitting.
• Observing starts one hour after sunset, but no earlier than 6:30 p.m.
• Open to the public, FREE admission

Next public observing session: Monday, February 20

For information regarding Grundy's public observing session please visit http://fandm.edu/x11609.xml

For current information as to whether the observatory will be open or closed, please visit http://home.comcast.net/~jerimagoon on the day of the public observing session.

Directions to the Grundy Observatory

The Grundy observatory is located on Baker Campus off of Harrisburg Pike.

• From Harrisburg Pike turn onto President Avenue.
• Head south on President.
• Turn right onto Hillcrest, toward Lancaster Country Day School.
• Continue to Wilson Drive (first stop sign), turn right. 
• Go north on Wilson to the very end of the street, where you see a chain link fence and gate ahead of you.
• Drive through the gate and keep going until you see the observatory.  Parking is available beside the building.  If lot is full additional parking is available just pass the gate on the right.

Telescope Rental

Looking for a way to observe the wonders of the night sky, but don't have a telescope? Or are you wanting to test one out before investing in a telescope of your own? The North Museum offers an Orion SkyQuest XT4.5 reflecting telescope for rent. Observe planets and the moon, when visible, star clusters, the sun and more. Rental includes all of the following:

• EZ Finder II Reflex Sight Finderscope
• 25 mm and 10 mm eyepieces
• Moon Filter
• Solar Filter (for SAFE veiwing of sunspots, when visible, on the sun)
• Red Flashlight
• Resource Materials (Planisphere included)
• Training session from Cosmic Mike for the adult borrower
• 2 week rental (can be a little flexible dependant on percentage of nights with inclement weather conditions and availability of the telescope)

Total Rental Cost: $200 (includes a $100 Refundable Deposit Fee dependant on condition of returned telescope and accessories. (Entire rental package is valued at $500)

For more information or questions please contact Cosmic Mike at 717.291.4315 or cosmicmike@northmuseum.org