What’s Up Tonight

So what can we see tonight? Visit this section regularly to see what objects you can find in the night sky.

Planets

Two bright planets Jupiter and Saturn are showing prominently tonight. If you haven't seen a planet before, now is a good time to go out and check out the night sky from your backyard.

Saturn will come out early. As soon as it gets dark it will already be about 45 degrees above the horizon in the southeast. It will appear as a bright orange star. Those of you with small telescopes will be able to see its rings and at least one of its moons.

Jupiter is very bright tonight. It will rise at about sunset so you will have to wait a little before it gets high enough to see. Jupiter has just passed opposition and will be visible the whole night. It is also at its closest approach in 59 years, making it brighter than ever!

Through a small telescope or binoculars, you will see its four Galilean moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. If you look closely, you may see the orange stripes on Jupiter's surface.

The Moon

The moon is a waxing crescent and will set very early at about 7:30 pm. You may not see the moon tonight, but it means you will have a dark sky all night to view other wonders.

Stars and Constellations

The most prominent bright star tonight will be Vega, which will be seen in the early evening in the north-west. It will set just after midnight.

The brightest constellations will be at the south, where you can see Scorpius and Sagittarius. Sagittarius looks like a teapot and is very easy to spot. Scorpius is large and resembles a scorpion, but early Filipinos who saw it called it a coconut tree! See if you can figure it out by connecting the dots in the sky.

The Milky Way

This is the time of the years when the milky way can be clearly seen. It looks like a thin cloud that is stuck to the sky and doesn't move. Look for its thickest section passing through Scorpius and Sagittarius.

Others

The dark sky caused by the early setting of the moon may enable you to see some deep sky objects such as nebulas and star clusters. Look for them near Scorpius and Sagittarius. If you live near city lights, they may be hard to find even through binoculars and small telescopes.

That's it for tonight. Enjoy stargazing!