Venus

Watching the sky just after sunset you may be noticing the brightest star that appears over the western horizon. This “star” is actually a planet, Venus.

cloud patterns on Venus

Venus is the third brightest naturally occurring object in our sky (after the Sun and Moon) due to having a thick atmosphere with clouds that reflect sunlight really well. Venus is the closest planet to the Earth and about the same size as Earth both of which also attribute to its brightness.

Venus's movement in the sky over months

The key to understanding Venus’s movement in our sky is to remember it’s an interior planet which means it travels around closer to the Sun in an orbit interior to ours. It takes Venus a little over 7 months to travel around the Sun where it takes Earth 12 months. This means every year Venus will pass us on the inside lane at least once. Right now Venus is catching up and will pass us on the inside lane on January 9th 2022. This is called ‘inferior solar conjunction’ and means the Sun, Venus, and Earth will be in alignment. We won’t be able to see it pass us as it will be too close to the Sun to observe. Here in the Front Range, we will stop being able to see Venus in our evening sky in late December due to the mountains covering anything low on the western horizon.

We can’t watch Venus pass us, but right now we can watch it move in for the pass. If you watch the sunset every week or so until December you will see Venus getting closer and closer to the horizon. A few days after inferior solar conjunction (January 9th 2022) we will start seeing Venus on the other side of the Sun in our sky just before sunrise. Watching the Sun rise starting in February you will see Venus climb higher and higher in the morning sky. Venus never travels further than 47 degrees from the Sun. Because of this we only notice Venus at sunset or sunrise when the Sun is blocked by the horizon letting Venus shine in the sky. One small exception to this is during a solar eclipse when the Sun is blocked by the Moon. Some may have noticed Venus next to the Sun during the 2017 solar eclipse.

Phases of Venus

Looking at Venus with a decent pair of binoculars you will see that it currently appears as a crescent. This is because just like the Moon, Venus has phases. Because Venus is currently coming toward us, we can see a portion of Venus that is illuminated by the Sun and a portion that is in darkness (night) facing away from the Sun. The illuminated portion will continue to shrink until Venus is in inferior solar conjunction when we won’t see Venus just like we don’t see the Moon at New Moon. Then in February as we watch Venus rise before the Sun we will also see the illuminated crescent grow larger, if we check in weekly with binoculars.

If you want to see Venus up close in a big telescope Book an AstroTour in November to be sure to catch it before it moves to the morning sky not to be seen on a tour again until 2022.

Astronomy Tours at Winter Park

AstroTours.org is excited to partner with Winter Park to provide an out of this world experience!

Hosting programs at Winter Park will provide us access to the pristine dark sky above Winter Park. Due to it's high elevation and lack of light pollution Winter Park is a seller spot for astronomy.

We will be providing two experiences:

1) https://www.winterparkresort.com/things-to-do/wpguides#/experiences/6ecf5308-dc89-4bd2-a002-b55c34c16123

A tour for all ages located at Hill House. Tours start at sunset and last for 2 hours. The show will explore the night sky with several large telescopes and a laser pointer. We will see and learn about planets, constellations, navigation, satellites, nebula, clusters, galaxies, maybe some shooting stars (if lucky), and our universe. Through telescopes we will get up close looks at these objects and take in their beauty with our own eyes. Guests are provided with a red flashlight, comfy seating, and hot coco. Guests are encouraged to bring questions, wonderment, and warm clothing (it will get cold after sunset). Please be aware of weather, tour is subject to cancellation if it is too cloudy to see any stars.

2) https://www.winterparkresort.com/things-to-do/wpguides#/experiences/29e6dfba-7330-456f-9d87-4afd3ceda505

A tour for all ages located at the top of the Winter Park Resort Gondola. Tours start at sunset and last for 2 hours. The show will explore the night sky with several large telescopes and a laser pointer. We will see and learn about planets, constellations, navigation, satellites, nebula, clusters, galaxies, maybe some shooting stars (if lucky), and our universe. Through telescopes we will get up close looks at these objects and take in their beauty with our own eyes. The tour takes place at the top of the gondola in winter park (small ~100yard walk required, snowshoes available upon request) where phenomenal sunsets and wildlife are often seen. Guests are provided with a red flashlight, comfy seating, and hot coco. Guests are encouraged to bring questions, wonderment, and warm clothing (it will get cold after sunset). Please be aware of weather, tour is subject to cancellation if it is too cloudy to see any stars.

Frequently asked questions about the Winter Park tour:

For General Information feel free to reach out to Winter Park here:

Guest Services - 970.726.5514

Email:wpinfo@winterparkresort.com

Location:

top of the Gondola or Hill House depending on tour.

About the tour: Tours start at sunset and last 2hrs. we start with a talk about telescopes and looking at a few twilight objects. Then there's a 30 to 45min astronomy talk where we will teach you how to navigate with the stars, point out some constellations with a lazer and share their stories as we let our eyes adjust to the night. Next is ~45 min of telescope time where we get to look at: planets, constellations, satellites, nebula, clusters, galaxies, maybe some shooting stars, and our universe. I end with a 15min q&a and a last few objects (I love looking at things in the telescopes so, guests are free to stay as late as they like and I will keep pointing telescopes at things, answering questions, and talking, as long as there's an audience).

Recommended night/ moon worries:

I would recommend a day or two after the full moon or a day or two after a new moon. The moon is amazing to see in a telescope but, it gives off natural light pollution which drowns out a lot of the dimmer stars and things. For full moon tours I would recommend to just book the usual tour in Boulder as the full moon will make the sky in Winter Park very similar to Boulder's light polluted sky

Will there be any hiking?:

Nope, No hiking required. You might have to walk ~100 yards from the Village Cabriolet for hill house, or the gondola for sunspot. the ground is flat at the sight. We provide chairs for you to sit in during most of the show, and can assist you getting around if needed. Most of the telescopes require standing to use, however I can show the same things in more accessible telescopes if needed, and you will be able to sit during telescope time if needed as well.

Can children come:

Yes, All ages are welcome! I just warn parents of young children: this is a late night show geared for a developed mind requiring a good attention span, little ones often fall asleep. Can dogs come:

No, unfortunately Winter Park does not let dogs come to the resort. Well behaved dogs are welcome on the tours in Boulder only.

Should we come earlier?: If guests want to come earlier to see the telescopes in the daylight and ask questions, ~15min before the show starts the guide usually will be mostly set up and able to talk about the telescopes

Can we use the discounts listed on the discount page?:

No, all discounts listed on this web sight are for the tours in Boulder only. Unfortunately these programs are ran entirely through the resort in Winter Park as such AstroTours.org has no control over adjusting prices.

We're very excited about this partnership and look forward to seeing you at Winter Park

The Orionid meteor

The Orionid meteor shower is one of my favorite meteor showers and will be in our skies soon!! Get a plan to get outside and watch the shower! This guide will tell you what you need and how to make a plan to see the shower on your own! If you want to skip the planning just book a tour to see the shower and more up close in a telescope with me.

When: October 24th/25th (The shower will peak on the 21st but with full moon being on the 20th I would actually recommend to catch the shower after ‘peak’ as you’ll be able to see more)

Where: Earth the Orionids are visible in most latitudes. Just be sure to get a dark cloud free spot.

How: The best way to increase your chances to view any meteor shower is to: 1) turn off all lights and let your eyes adjust to the dark for 20min. 2) lay on your back under the night sky to maximize the amount of your field of view taken up by the sky. I recommend heading to a park with a picnic blanket and lay out on your blanket in the middle of a light-less grassy field.

What you need to best see it:

1. Something to lay down on (picnic blanket, trampoline, hammock, sleeping pad, rug, air mattress, etc.)

2. Your eyes

3. Optional:

   1. Bug spray

   2. Warm clothes for falling temperatures

   3. A sky map app on your smartphone

   4. Binoculars

   5. telescope

Orion hopefully it won't be this cloudy when you go out to watch the meteor shower.

Meteor showers are caused by the Earth traveling through a part of its orbit that has lots of debris left behind from a commit. As the Earth travels through this debris, the debris causes “falling stars” “shooting stars” or more correctly “meteors”. Small meteors (about the size of a grain of sand) are responsible for most of the shooting stars we see. These small meteors are moving extremely fast when the earth hits them ripping electrons off air molecules in the upper atmosphere, making them light up “electrifying” the air. I feel like this is what makes them so electrifying to watch!

The Orionids are one of my favorite meteor showers because it is known for having the biggest and brightest meteors. The Orionids are about average for amount of meteors you see at 20 meteors per hour but they more than make up for this with the brightness of the meteors. This is because the meteors of the Orionids are some of the fastest meteors the Earth hits all year. This is because the Earth is hitting the debris field nearly head on. The particles come from Halley's Comet (1P/Halley) which is seen every 75 to 76 years, and the debris it leaves behind is in the perfect angle to cause some of the brightest shooting stars we see all year.

Halley's Comet

Unfortunately this year won’t be the best for my favorite meteor shower. The shower will “peak” in late October with the night of the 21st technically being the “peak”. However, I recommend checking it out after the “peak” because this will get you a better early evening view. With the full moon being on the 20th you will be able to see more shooting stars with the moonless hours just after sunset (~6:30p MST) on the 24th. The moon will unfortunately subtract with its natural light pollution and you will see fainter shooting stars on the 21st during the “peak”.

Location can have a huge impact on how many shooting stars you will see as well. You want a very dark open area. I recommend using this mapping tool to find the best spot near you: https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=4.00&lat=39.1997&lon=-97.2914&layers=B0TFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Denver's light pollution

I’m always impressed with places like Cherry Creek State Park or the Rocky Mountain arsenal for being so dark yet ~15 minutes away from some of the brightest areas in Colorado. Then there's places that are very dark like Nederland that's less than 1 hr from the brightest areas in the state. It’s all about finding that balance. You’ll still see the brightest falling stars in your backyard, the darker the better but don’t let it be a barrier to seeing the shower.

You want a clear area so when you lay down and look up you only see the night sky. trees/hills are nice to block out some of the surrounding light pollution but you don’t want them to block your view of the night sky and miss out on shooting stars behind them. Definitely check the weather as well, you're not going to see any shooting stars if it's cloudy. Weather.gov

Laying down under the night sky is the biggest cheat code to seeing more shooting stars. This shower is the “Orionids” meaning that the shooting stars will appear to radiate from the constellation Orion which will rising around 1030p MST in the Eastrn sky. You will still be able to see them all over the sky even when Orion isn’t out. Laying down so you can see the maximum amount of sky at one time is the best way to maximize your chances of seeing a shooting star. I recommend picnic blankets, trampolines, hammocks, sleeping mats, a rug, air mattress, anything that will let you lay out under the stars for a good amount of time in comfort.

With that you should be more than prepared to view the meteor shower this October!

Here’s a small list of other bonus things to see if you can spot while you’re out there:

1. The big dipper low in the north west sky

2. The Moon - you will get to watch the moonrise at 8:35p if you’re out on my recommended date of October 24th.

3. Venus - it will be the first “star” you can see after sunset low in the Western sky

4. Jupiter - Jupiter will be low in the South-Eastern sky next to just after sunset and rising high in the southern sky. You will be able to see up to four of Jupiter’s moons in a pair of binoculars or a telescope

5. Saturn - Saturn will be high in the South-Eastern sky next to Jupiter just after sunset and rising high in the southern sky You will be able to see the rings and some moons in a good pair of binoculars or a telescope

6. The milky way - if you’re in a dark enough area you won’t be able to miss it high in the sky going right over your head

7. Use a star app on your phone to identify other stars / constellations. This is a fun thing to play with but every time you look at your phone remember you are losing your night vision, making it harder to see dimmer shooting stars. Turn down your screen brightness and be courteous of others not to shine light in their eyes.

This was my 50th blog post! Thank you everyone for helping me grow this blog! To celebrate I’m offering 5$ off my tour just pick a date here: astrotours.org/booking and email me to redeem!

If you want to see all this and more in a telescope book an astronomy tour here:Astrotours.org/booking