It's True I'm A Sucker

“There is not perhaps another object in the heavens that presents us with such a variety of extraordinary phenomena as the planet Saturn.”

—Sir William Herschel (1738-1822)

Solar System: Things to Know This Week

1. See Shadows on Jupiter

Jupiter dominates the evening sky this month, rising at sunset and setting at dawn. On the nights of March 14 and 15, Jovian moons Io and Europa will cross the planet’s disk. When the planet is at opposition and the sun shines on Jupiter’s moons, we can see the moons’ shadows crossing the planet. There are actually 11 of these double shadow transits in March.

2. One Year of Dawn at Ceres

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft gently slid into orbit around Ceres just over one year ago, becoming the first spacecraft to reach a dwarf planet. Since then, the spacecraft has delivered a wealth of images and other data that open an exciting new window to this previously unexplored body in the asteroid belt.

3. The Latest from Saturn

Days ago, on Mar. 11, 2016, Cassini’s Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) watched as the plume of gas and icy particles from the moon Enceladus passed in front of the central star in Orion’s Belt. Such observations, known as stellar occultations, provide information about the density and composition of the plume.

4. The Equinox is Upon Us

March 20 is the vernal equinox–the start of spring in the northern hemisphere, and the start of fall in the southern hemisphere. During the two equinoxes each year, the line between day and night is vertical, so all over the planet, the length of the day and night are nearly equal. For the rest of the year, the Earth’s tilt angles the line between day and night, culminating with the solstices, in which the poles receive weeks of unending sunshine or darkness depending on the time of year.

5. Up Close with a Comet

Before Rosetta crash lands into comet Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in September, 2016, it will continue taking pictures and detailed measurements of this mysterious comet to study the origin of comets and how they relate to the origin of the solar system.

Want to learn more? Read our full list of the 10 things to know this week about the solar system HERE.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

Our sister galaxy

Andromeda Rising

Midna is perf <3

Solar System: Things to Know This Week

Here are a few things you should know about our solar system this week:

1. Gearing Up for a Grand Finale

There’s just a year left until the Cassini mission begins its Grand Finale – the final phase of its mission, during which the spacecraft will dive repeatedly between the planet and the rings. To get ready, the Cassini team has launched an enhanced, mobile device-friendly version of the mission website. The site includes information about Cassini, Saturn, the moons and the rings – but it also tells the human stories behind one of the most ambitions expeditions of all time.

2.Caught in Transit

On Monday, May 9, the planet Mercury will cross directly in front of the sun, an event that hasn’t occurred since 2006 and won’t happen again until 2019. Find out how to watch HERE.  

3. A Moon for Makemake

Our Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a small, dark moon orbiting Makemake (pronounced “MAH-kay MAH-kay). Make make is the second brightest icy dwarf planet – after Pluto – in the faraway Kuiper Belt.

4. The Age of the Aquarids

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is the first of two showers that occur each year as a result of Earth passing through dust released by Halley’s Comet. This year, it should peak on the night of May 5/6. Get tips for watching HERE.

5. The Southern Lights of Saturn

On May 4, Cassini will reach periapse, the closest point to Saturn in the spacecraft’s orbit. At about this time, Cassini’s cameras will monitor Saturn’s south polar aurorae, and also image the bright limb of the planet to better understand its upper haze layers.

Want to learn more? Read our full list of the 10 things to know this week about the solar system HERE.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

Jupiter’s moon, Callisto.

Truly we are living in the future