Tonight Tonight’s chart shows Polaris and the Big and Little Dippers for a September evening. You can use the Big Dipper to find Polaris, which is also known as the North Star. Notice that a line from the two outermost stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper points to Polaris. And notice that Polaris marks the tip of the handle of the Little Dipper. The northern sky is a large clock, with Polaris at its center. The Big and Little Dippers: All you need to know EarthSky astronomy kits are perfect for beginners. View larger. | Keith Breazeal’s photo of a meteor streaking past the Big Dipper during the 2015 Perseid meteor shower. The Big Dipper swings full circle – 360 degrees – around Polaris in about 23 hours and 56 minutes. If you’re in the northern U.S., Canada or at a similar latitude, the Big Dipper is circumpolar for you – always above the horizon. A month from now at mid-evening, the Big Dipper will be noticeably lower in the northwest.
LIVE REAL TIME SATELLITE AND SPACE SHUTTLE TRACKING The Night Sky August 2012 | Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics Highlights of the Month April - Mars at Opposition. Image NASA. Mars, lying above Spica in Virgo, reaches opposition on April 8th when its magnitude will be -1.5 and its angular diameter 15.1 arc seconds. Due to the fact that Mars, and to a lesser extend, the Earth have elliptical orbits, its distance from us at opposition can vary from ~54 to 102 million km. As a result the angular size will vary from ~13 to 25 arc seconds - a major difference. April - it is still worthwhile to view Jupiter. Jupiter imaged by Damian Peach Jupiter is now well past opposition but this is a still a good month to observe this giant of planets. The features seen in the Jovian atmosphere have been changing quite significantly over the last few years - for a while the South Equatorial Belt vanished completely (as seen in Damian's image) but has now returned to its normal wide state. See more of Damian Peach's images: Damian Peaches Website" Features in Jupiter's atmosphere - December 2013. 1st 22:44 23rd 21:01 Mars