![]() Right now, it's setting around 10:15 p.m. Venus is becoming increasingly prominent as it slowly gets higher in our western evening sky with each passing night. ![]() It's the first planet to look for when the sun goes down. In contrast to Mercury and Jupiter, the third planet on our list will be very easy to see: dazzling Venus, the so-called " Evening Star" (although "Evening Beacon might be a better term). Mercury, on the other hand, will be moving away from the sun's vicinity and will become a bit easier to see during the next couple of weeks. ![]() Within just a day or two, Jupiter will disappear from view into the glare of the sun. It is no mean feat to catch two planets positioned so close to the setting sun. If you sight them, congratulate yourself. On the evening of March 27, they will be separated by just 1.3 degrees (just over one-finger width at arm's length.) Mercury will be to the right of brighter Jupiter. Your best chance to pick both planets up is initially to slowly sweep low along the western horizon with the binoculars then after you hopefully have found them, seek them out with your naked eye. But what will make a sighting problematic will be that both may be very difficult to see through the bright evening twilight.Īnd that's where your binoculars come in. Jupiter will appear even more dazzling at magnitude -2.1, which is twice as bright as Mercury. Both planets will set beyond the horizon only 25 to 30 minutes later.īoth planets will be shining brilliantly, Mercury will glow at magnitude -1.4, which is just a trifle dimmer than Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. And your viewing time is going to be short. Once you have found a proper viewing site, and with binoculars in hand, wait until approximately 20 to 25 minutes after the sun has set. One is the smallest planet (Mercury) and the other is the largest (Jupiter). Interestingly, our first two planets are studies in contrast. (Image credit: Starry Night Pro 7 ) Twilight time The alignment will be a challenge to spot, but is possible with the right location and equipment. If you're looking to snap photos of the night sky in general, check out our guide on how to photograph the moon, as well as our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography. If you're hoping to catch a look at the planetary parade, our guides to the best telescopes and best binoculars are a great place to start. The first number refers to magnification - in both cases, "7 power." The second number refers to the size of the objective lens - the large lens at the front of the binocular - measured in millimeters. The best kind is either 7 x 35 or 7 x 50. Your best option is looking out over a westward-facing shoreline that is perfectly flat and wide open with nothing to block your view.Īnd also make sure to have a good pair of binoculars, as they will be extremely beneficial in your making a sighting. Make sure you do not have any tall objects - buildings or trees - in that direction. In fact, I would strongly suggest that you stake out an observing site with a clear and unobstructed view of the western horizon if you hope to see two of these distant worlds. ![]() I conclude that before Starry Night will work, problems with QuickTime's video rendering must be fixed first.But like the Messier Marathon bagging all of these objects is going to be a challenge, especially with some of the planets. With the screen all black, there is no way to test the other features. It appears therefore that the problem is caused by the QuickTime libraries not working properly in Wine, rather than a problem in Starry Night per se. Starry Night uses the QuickTime libraries to render the night sky. However remember that QuickTime has problems with Wine causing the screen to become black. The menus appear to work but it's impossible to tell because we can't see the document. The entire document area is black, so the program is really useless. Starry Night Pro Plus 6 starts successfully and the familiar window opens. Starry Night installation completes successfully. Starry Night will only start if QuickTime itself launches and works correctly. This will also lead Starry Night to crash or not function. Using a newer version of QuickTime will end up with a successful installation but QuickTime will either crash or not function correctly. QuickTime must be installed according to the following How To: ![]()
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