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See Saturn in the constellation Leo(From the Classical Astronomy Update newsletter)
Saturn in Leo in the Spring of 2008
It's once again that time of year when "the Lion is higher than Orion"! After proclaiming the glory of God through the winter months, the awesome constellation Orion is once again sinking toward the sunset as the days of spring grow warmer and longer. In this month, the constellation Leo is high in the evening sky after sunset.
Unlike a lot of constellations, Leo actually looks like the object it is supposed to represent. Its trapezoidal shape looks like a big cat in mid-jump, and a faint "sickle" of stars is reasonably recognizable as a head.  In the current season, Leo is joined by the planet Saturn, which is the brighter "star" nearby the star Regulus in Leo. If you've been observing Leo and Saturn throughout this winter, you have had an excellent opportunity to observe the "retrograde motion" of this planet. In the weeks before the Earth "passed" Saturn back in February, the Earth's motion has caused a change in the line of sight between Saturn and the more distant background stars, causing the ringed planet to appear to move backwards. Consequently, Saturn appears to be moving west and approaching Regulus. Since Saturn's position on the night of the lunar eclipse in February, Saturn has moved quite a noticable distance to the west. These two bodies will make their closest approach at its "station" on May 3, when Saturn will be only a couple Moon diameters away from Regulus. After that time, Saturn will resume its regular eastward motion and will draw away from Regulus.  The waxing gibbous Moon will pass near Regulus and Saturn on the evening of Tuesday, May 15, 2008. Though this will be visible from North America, these bodies will appear very close to the Moon as seen from the meridians of Europe and Africa. The meridian of Jerusalem will be especially favored for this conjunction, and the Moon will appear very close to Regulus. Observers to the south in Madagascar will be able to see an occultation of Regulus by the Moon, in which the Moon will pass in front of this star, covering it from view for a time. Wherever you are, this lunar conjunction should be a pretty sight for everyone in the world. Leave a Comment Leave a Comment |