The ancients had beautifully dark skies, dusted with thousands of stars of varying brightness. At some point, they noticed that five of these stars were quite different from the rest.  Not only were they conspicuously bright, but they also moved against the background of the sky, while all the rest were fixed in place.  These movements weren’t all at the same speed, and varied over time, so these special stars became known as “Planets“, from the greek word for … Continue reading →

Uranus is the seventh planet out from the Sun, and the first to discovered in recorded history.  Although it is technically visible to the naked eye, it shines faintly enough that it appears to be just another tiny dot in an ocean of stars.  It is so inconspicuous that even though it appears in some of Galileo’s sketches of Jupiter as a tiny star in the background, he never noticed it moving between viewing sessions.  It wasn’t until 1781 that … Continue reading →

Mighty Jupiter, largest of all the planets, dominates the night sky.  Although Venus is brighter, Jupiter is the most prominent of the five classical planets.  Jupiter orbits further out than Earth, so is free to wander as far from the Sun along the ecliptic as he pleases.  Unlike Venus, Jupiter can shine down from directly overhead and be visible all night when at the right point in his orbit.  Dominating the night sky with his icy white brilliance, it’s no … Continue reading →