Best dates to view the Moon, Venus, Jupiter or Saturn

You will also see stars, star clusters and constellations so don't think you will just view the above in our telescopes! 

These particular dates are best  for Primary school Yearsr 2-7 visits or for parents with 6 - 12 year olds. 

2008

Sep             07  -  13.............Moon and Jupiter

September 11 at 6pm look westward and you will see Mars, Venus and Mercury as a trio that would fit in binoculars! Next time this will occur will be in the year 2235!

Oct             06  -  13..............Moon, Venus and Jupiter

Nov             05  -  11..............Moon, Venus and Jupiter

Dec             05  -  11.............Moon and Jupiter

2009 dates

Jan             02  -  09..............Moon and Venus

Feb            01  -  08..............Moon and Venus

Mar            02  -  09..............Moon and Saturn

Apr            01  -  08...............Moon and Saturn

May           01  -  07   and   29  -  31........Moon and Saturn

Jun            01  -  07   and   27  -  30........Moon and Saturn

Jul             01    05    and   26  -  30........Moon and Saturn

Aug           01  -  04   and   25  -  30........Moon and Jupiter

Sep           01  -  03   and   25  -  30........Moon and Jupiter

Oct           01  -  03   and    24  -  31.......Moon and Jupiter

Nov           24  -  30...........Moon and Jupiter  

Dec           24  -  30...........Moon and Jupiter

Currently, Jupiter is in Sagittarius and will slowly move into Capricorn and will move through that constellation until mid 2010  when its on the borders of Cap. and Pisces.

Jupiter in any telescope like ours, it a huge planet!!  One can see many coloured 'belts or bands' that straddle the planet's disc. Sometimes you see 1 of the 4 bright moons - Io, Europa, Ganymeade and Callisto playing 'catch-ups' as they dart in front and behind of each other and the planet itself.  

On many occassions these moons can be seen as dark black spots on the gas giant below as they pass in front of Jupiter. And to see one of the moons right on the edge of the planet only to see it suddenly disappear, is a truly a magnificent sight. Sometimes you can see the 'Red Spot' - a huge swirling mass in the upper clouds of the planet. 

Asteroids, millions of big and small chunks of  rock that make up the Asteroid Belt sandwiched between Mars and Jupiter. Many of these rocks could do serious damaged to this planet if they penetrated the atmosphere and landed on Earth. That is why the astronomer spend so much time searching for these 'loose bullets' using powerful telescopes and cameras.

There are 4 large asteroids: Ceres, Juno, Pallas and Vesta. Ceres being the largest, is now a 'Dwarf Planet' while the others are still Minor Planets. The internet has so much on these, and other asteroids, it is pointless saying much more here.

Saturn is in Leo just a finger's width east of Regulus. It will remain in Leo till it moves into Virgo in 2010 and will remain there till it moves into Libra in early 2014.

Saturn in  any telescope is absolutely wonderful. Its rings and moons are a constant 'mind blower' and never ever have I heard anyone say it's not beautiful.

Best powers to use is 15-30 times per aperture of lens or mirror. Meaning if you have an 8-inch scope at 1200mm focal length then the best powers to use are 120x to 240x. The more you increase this, the more fuzzy the image will look.

With 10,000 rings and dozens of moons, Saturn will always continue to bedazle even the most hardened observer.