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Look up, tonight.

Look up, tonight.

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A reminder to take the time to look up into the evening sky because Jupiter and Saturn are in conjunction. I had the good fortune of a clear evening last night so my bride and I on our evening walk were able to observe the two separated by well less than the amount space in the sky occupied by the moon. Other than the moon, Jupiter will be the first and brightest object to appear in the night sky. For us, it was in the southwest for a few hours before setting on the horizon, Saturn appearing dimmer and just above Jupiter. No worries if it is cloudy this evening where you are, their rate of separation will be slow, so better luck the next night.

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@ktadaddy said
A reminder to take the time to look up into the evening sky because Jupiter and Saturn are in conjunction. I had the good fortune of a clear evening last night so my bride and I on our evening walk were able to observe the two separated by well less than the amount space in the sky occupied by the moon. Other than the moon, Jupiter will be the first and brightest object to ...[text shortened]... dy this evening where you are, their rate of separation will be slow, so better luck the next night.
Did I read somewhere where their separation, though seeming to be really close, is actually something like 550,000,000 miles? 🤔


@great-big-stees said
Did I read somewhere where their separation, though seeming to be really close, is actually something like 550,000,000 miles? 🤔
We live in a 3D universe.

The orbits of planets further away from the Sun have a larger diameter.

Saturn's distance from the Sun averages to about 1,433,500,000 km, while Jupiter's distance averages about 778,360,000 km, so do the math on how far apart they are at the same point in their orbits. It comes to about 657,140,000 km. Yes, Saturn is almost twice as far from the Sun as Jupiter.

DISCLAIMER: Yes, I know that planetary orbits are ellipses, not circles, but I wanted to keep it simple.


@Suzianne

What was your source Suzie Q, you forgot to put that in! 😉

-VR

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@very-rusty said
@Suzianne

What was your source Suzie Q, you forgot to put that in! 😉

-VR
This kind of data you can easily look up in the Wikipedia.
Any household lexicon will put you also into the knowledge.

As I tell my students time and again: Anything you can look up in a textbook doesn't need a source. Any interesting thesis beyond that does...


@ktadaddy said
A reminder to take the time to look up into the evening sky because Jupiter and Saturn are in conjunction. I had the good fortune of a clear evening last night so my bride and I on our evening walk were able to observe the two separated by well less than the amount space in the sky occupied by the moon. Other than the moon, Jupiter will be the first and brightest object to ...[text shortened]... dy this evening where you are, their rate of separation will be slow, so better luck the next night.
Some amazing things and all you have to do is lift your head up and look, there’s little more beautiful than laying in a hammock and watching the sky at night, especially If there’s a meteor shower going on, had the fortune of doing that a couple of times. Magical.


@ponderable said
This kind of data you can easily look up in the Wikipedia.
Any household lexicon will put you also into the knowledge.

As I tell my students time and again: Anything you can look up in a textbook doesn't need a source. Any interesting thesis beyond that does...
She makes it appear like she knew this to me.

Would you question your student about it?

-VR


@very-rusty said
She makes it appear like she knew this to me.

Would you question your student about it?

-VR
What, you didn't know that Saturn was on average 1,433,500,000 km from the sun? I thought everyone knew that.


@indonesia-phil said
What, you didn't know that Saturn was on average 1,433,500,000 km from the sun? I thought everyone knew that.
What am I thinking of course she knew all this by heart! 😉 😛

"Saturn's distance from the Sun averages to about 1,433,500,000 km, while Jupiter's distance averages about 778,360,000 km, so do the math on how far apart they are at the same point in their orbits. It comes to about 657,140,000 km. Yes, Saturn is almost twice as far from the Sun as Jupiter."

-VR


@ktadaddy said
A reminder to take the time to look up into the evening sky because Jupiter and Saturn are in conjunction. I had the good fortune of a clear evening last night so my bride and I on our evening walk were able to observe the two separated by well less than the amount space in the sky occupied by the moon. Other than the moon, Jupiter will be the first and brightest object to ...[text shortened]... dy this evening where you are, their rate of separation will be slow, so better luck the next night.
It will be a couple of days for us so will not be at its best to see. I am sure people will get lots of videos and pictures of it as it only happens once in many life times I am told. Tonight would be best night but we are having rain.

-VR

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@very-rusty said
What am I thinking of course she knew all this by heart! 😉 😛

"Saturn's distance from the Sun averages to about 1,433,500,000 km, while Jupiter's distance averages about 778,360,000 km, so do the math on how far apart they are at the same point in their orbits. It comes to about 657,140,000 km. Yes, Saturn is almost twice as far from the Sun as Jupiter."

-VR
Well, strap in, buckwheat, 'cause Uranus is over twice the distance from the Sun as Saturn.

Saturn, 1.43 bn km
Uranus 2.88 bn km

We live in an amazing universe.

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@suzianne said
Well, strap in, buckwheat, 'cause Uranus is over twice the distance from the Sun as Saturn.

Saturn, 1.43 bn km
Uranus 2.88 bn km

We live in an amazing universe.
This is just the Solar System moron. It is like a grain of sand n the Milky Way, which is like a grain of sand in the universe.

Anyway I wish all of you were 2.88 bn km from the sun and not just ur anus.


@rajk999 said
This is just the Solar System moron. It is like a grain of sand n the Milky Way, which is like a grain of sand in the universe.

Anyway I wish all of you were 2.88 bn km from the sun and not just ur anus.
Are we brothers?

We must be related somewhere.

We think too much alike 🤔


@cheesemaster said
Are we brothers?

We must be related somewhere.

We think too much alike 🤔
Lol. Maybe. Go far back enough and we are all family.


LoL true 👍