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Young Observers |
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Planets: Jupiter and friends
Looking towards the west, bright Jupiter and Saturn are still entertaining
observers this month.
390 years ago, an astronomer named Galileo Galilei took a newly invented
telescope and aimed it at Jupiter for the first time in history. He discovered
four moons circling around the planet.
The moons are referred to as the Galilean satellites, after their discoverer.
The names of the
Moons are: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. A small telescope or
steady binoculars will show these moons. Watch them several nights in a
row and observe their changing positions.
Try to spot Mars, glowing in in the west next to the crescent moon on the
evening of January 10th.
Venus is still the brightest object in the sky besides the Moon and
the Sun. See it before the Sun gets up in the morning. This should be easy
to do because the Sun gets up so late in the winter.
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This page last modified: January 15, 2000 |
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