The Great Conjunction of 2020

Are you ready for the Great Conjunction on December 21st? This rare astronomical event refers to when the planets Jupiter and Saturn appear close to each other in the sky. This event occurs in an approximately 20-year cycle. The approach will be very close, at a separation of only 6 arcseconds between the planets! The last time these planets appeared this close was in 1623, and the next time will be in 2080. Make sure to take the once-in-a-lifetime chance to observe Saturn and Jupiter simultaneously! The planets will be low on the south-western horizon as the sun sets, so get your telescopes and binoculars from Orion Telescopes and Binoculars ready for this rare observing opportunity!

At the 2000 great conjunction, 20 years ago, Jupiter and Saturn were near the sun in our sky and difficult to observe. We are due for a more observable great conjunction, and we’ll get one. In November, Jupiter and Saturn were noticeable for their nearness to each other, and they were in the sky when darkness fell.

In December 2020, Jupiter and Saturn will still be easily visible. They’ll be, if anything, even more beautiful in the western twilight shortly after sunset.

On the 21st December 2020, Jupiter and Saturn will be separated by only 6 arcminutes, the closest conjunction since 1623. Source: Sky Safari 5 Pro.

You’ll recognize Jupiter and Saturn easily from now through the end of the year. Jupiter is brighter than any star. Saturn is not as bright as Jupiter, but it’s as bright as the brightest stars and shines with a distinctive golden color. Also, Jupiter is near Saturn! Saturn is just to the east of Jupiter on the sky’s dome. Unlike the twinkling stars, Jupiter and Saturn both shine steadily.

Over the time between November 21 and the day of the conjunction itself, December 21, Jupiter will travel about 6 degrees and Saturn 3 degrees on the sky’s dome. That movement will mean that Jupiter bridges the 3-degree gap between itself and Saturn.

Whenever Jupiter and Saturn are in conjunction, that is, when they have the same right ascension or celestial longitude, it is referred to as a "Great Conjunction," primarily because, unlike conjunctions with the other bright planets, these two don't get together very often. The average frequency of occurrence is merely the product of their sidereal periods divided by the absolute value of their difference.

A sidereal period is defined as the time required for a celestial body within the solar system to complete one revolution with respect to the fixed stars. Saturn's period of 29.65 years multiplied by Jupiter's period of 11.86 years amounts to 351.65. Dividing this value by the difference in their sidereal periods gives us 19.76 years. So, about every 20 years, Jupiter and Saturn will have a rendezvous.

Insight Observatory's remote telescopes ATEO-1 (left) and ATEO-2A (right) will attempt to gather image data of the "Great Conjunction of 2020" from SkyPi Remote Observatory on the evening of December 21, 2020.

Insight Observatory will be attempting to acquire image data of this rare event on the evening of December 21st on its remote Astronomical Telescopes for Educational Outreach (ATEO) from SkyPi Remote Observatory in New Mexico. The conjunction will be extremely low in the southwest part of the sky from our location at SkyPi; however, we are going to give it a try. If you are interested in receiving image data, please contact us.

Sources: Earthsky.org and Space.com

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What's In The Sky - July 2020

Get ready for summer stargazing! With the weather warming up, July is a great time of year to enjoy relaxing evenings under starry skies with your telescope or astronomy binoculars. Here are a few of Orion Telescopes and Binoculars picks for July stargazing...

Gas Giants at Opposition

Jupiter and Saturn both reach opposition one week apart this year, making July the perfect opportunity for planetary viewing! Opposition is when the Earth passes directly between a planet and the Sun. This coincides with the planets closest approach to Earth, providing an excellent opportunity for great views in a telescope. Both planets are easy to find in the Southern sky, about 7 degrees apart from each other. Jupiter reaches opposition on July 14th and Saturn about a week later on the 20th. During opposition, Saturn’s rings will be inclined at 21 degrees towards Earth, close to their maximum angle of 27 degrees. Combined with the planet's close approach to Earth, this makes July an excellent time to observe Saturn and its rings!

Jupiter imaged on 12/07/2012 with an Orion 180mm Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope Optical Tube. Imaged by Cherdphong V. from Bangkok, Thailand.

Grab a high magnification eyepiece or a Barlow lens, and check out the gas giants during opposition!

New Moon

July 20th is the darkest night of the month and therefore the best time to observe the more faint objects like galaxies and star clusters. Grab your observing gear and enjoy!

Hercules almost directly overhead and Scorpius

With constellation Hercules almost directly overhead and Scorpius to the south, there's plenty to see in July skies as summer continues. Check out globular star clusters M13 and M92 in Hercules, and explore Scorpius to find numerous deep-sky objects including open clusters M6 and M7, and globular clusters M4 and M80.

The Summer Milky Way

From a dark sky location in mid-July, the glorious Summer Milky Way shines as a band of light that stretches from the southern horizon to nearly overhead. As the night progresses, the Milky Way will arch across the entire sky. From a dark observing site, scan the Milky Way with 50mm or larger binoculars or a wide-angle telescope to explore some of the hundreds of open star clusters, emission nebulae and planetary nebulae that lurk among the star clouds.

Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope Kit.

July Challenge Object — Hercules Galaxy Cluster

About half a billion light-years from Earth in the constellation Hercules, not far from the star Beta Hercules in the southwest corner of the "keystone" asterism, lies the "Hercules Galaxy Cluster." This association is a group of 200-300 distant galaxies, the brightest of which is NGC 6050 at about 10th magnitude and can be seen with an 8" reflector like the Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian under very dark skies with good seeing conditions. A larger aperture, 14"-16" telescope like the Orion SkyQuest XX14g GoTo Truss Dobsonian will begin to show about a half-dozen or more galaxies in one field-of-view. How many can you see in your telescope?

Orion SkyQuest XX14g GoTo Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope.

All objects described above can easily be seen with the suggested equipment from a dark sky site, a viewing location some distance away from city lights where light pollution and when bright moonlight does not overpower the stars.

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What's In The Sky - February 2020

Clear February nights present some great stargazing opportunities. Be sure to bundle up and keep warm while you get outside for some stargazing fun!

Here are a few of Orion Telescopes and Binoculars' top picks for February stargazing:

New Moon

February 23rd should be one of the best nights for deep-sky viewing as the New Moon phase will provide the darkest night of the short month. Use Orion Broadband Filters to enhance your view.

On the evening of Monday, February 9th, Mercury (orbit is shown as a red curve) will reach its widest separation, 18 degrees east of the Sun. With Mercury sitting above a nearly vertical evening ecliptic, this will be the best appearance of the planet in 2020 for Northern Hemisphere observers. The optimal viewing times fall between 6 and 7 p.m. local time. Viewed in a telescope (inset), the planet will exhibit a waning half-illuminated phase. Image credit: Starry Night.

Mercury High In The Sky

On February 9th, Mercury will be at its greatest eastern elongation, meaning it is at its greatest separation from the Sun. Mercury will be at an altitude of approximately 16 degrees when the Sun sets at 17:34 PST, making it an ideal time to observe this tricky target.

Planetary Lineup: Get up early on President's Day, February 17th, to see a lineup of three planets and the Moon. At dawn, the crescent Moon and Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will form a line spanning about 39 degrees in the southeastern sky.

Before sunrise on the next day, February 18th, viewers in North America can watch the Moon occult Mars! Better yet, try snapping a sequence of high-magnification pics of the event.

Betelgeuse In The News

Betelgeuse has been in the news lately since dimming down to a magnitude of around 1.5, the lowest brightness in more than a century. The red supergiant is normally variable, but the unusual dimming has brought up the question of whether a supernova is imminent. Betelgeuse is close enough that if it went supernova it would be brighter than the full moon, a spectacular astronomical event. However, the consensus is that this probably won't be happening soon. The best estimate is sometime in the next 100,000 years, so it is more likely that this variability is normal, and we've still got a few millennia before the light show.

It may not be as flashy, but if you want to see a supernova now, astronomer Koichi Itagaki discovered a supernova on January 12th. Located in the galaxy NGC 4636 in the constellation Virgo, it should be visible with a 6" or larger telescope. Referred to as SN2020ue, it is currently at magnitude 12.1 and should be visible under dark skies at around 60-100x magnification as a dim star just outside of the galaxy's core.

Galaxies M81 and M82 in Ursa Major - 5 x 300 Second LRGB Image by Insight Observatory.

Bright Galaxies

In late February, bright galaxies M81 and M82 will be about as high in the sky as they will get for North American stargazers. From a dark sky site, these galaxies are visible with a 50mm or larger binocular, but we suggest you use a large telescope to chase these galaxies down just off the leading edge of the Big Dipper asterism. Many observers consider M81 & M82 the best pairing of visual galaxies in the sky!

If you would like to receive image data of galaxies such as M81 and M82 and other deep-sky objects taken on the Astronomical Telescopes for Educational Outreach (ATEO), please visit Insight Observatory's Custom Image Data Request form.

All objects described above can easily be seen with the suggested equipment from a dark sky site, a viewing location some distance away from city lights where light pollution does not overpower the stars, and when bright moonlight does not overpower the stars.

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