Mercury and Saturn.

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Jnicholes United States of America
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Mercury and Saturn.

#1

Post by Jnicholes »


Hi everyone,

I have a question I would like to ask.

I was on my phones astronomy app, called Star Walk, and I was scrolling through the dates to see if something interesting is coming up. I came across something on January 11th, 2022 at 6:00 PM US Mountain Time at my location. I am attaching a screenshot of it.
Starwalk
Starwalk
As you can see, Mercury and Saturn are close to each other on this date, according to the app.

My question is as follows, is this a conjunction? Can someone help me figure this out?

I plan on trying to get a photo of Mercury tonight and tomorrow if the skies and wind conditions permit.

Jared
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notFritzArgelander
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Re: Mercury and Saturn.

#2

Post by notFritzArgelander »


Because they are near each other, they are near conjunction. The definition of a conjunction is that the objects have either the same right ascension or the same ecliptic longitude. The latter definition is older and IMO more correct but practically speaking the difference is slight.
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Jnicholes United States of America
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Re: Mercury and Saturn.

#3

Post by Jnicholes »


Thanks for giving me that definition. To be honest, I thought conjunction meant that they were close to each other, not the definition you said.

If they’re close, I’ll try to get a picture of it tomorrow or tonight, depending on the sky. It’s not every day this happens.
Celestron Nexstar 8SE Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope
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"Our minds are finite, and yet even in these circumstances of finitude we are surrounded by possibilities that are infinite, and the purpose of life is to grasp as much as we can out of that infinitude."

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Re: Mercury and Saturn.

#4

Post by notFritzArgelander »


Jnicholes wrote: Mon Jan 10, 2022 5:12 pm Thanks for giving me that definition. To be honest, I thought conjunction meant that they were close to each other, not the definition you said.

If they’re close, I’ll try to get a picture of it tomorrow or tonight, depending on the sky. It’s not every day this happens.
The ecliptic longitude definition was the one used by Ptolemy, Copernicus, Tycho, Kepler, Newton and all the old boys going back to Sumerian astrologers. The right ascension definition is a modern revision presumably because it's easier than computing an ecliptic longitude and it isn't used by contemporary astrologers. ;)

If you can get a pic, please post!
Scopes: Refs: Orion ST80, SV 80EDA f7, TS 102ED f11 Newts: AWB 130mm, f5, Z12 f5; Cats: VMC110L, Intes MK66,VMC200L f9.75 EPs: KK Fujiyama Orthoscopics, 2x Vixen NPLs (40-6mm) and BCOs, Baader Mark IV zooms, TV Panoptics, Delos, Plossl 32-8mm. Mixed brand Masuyama/Astroplans Binoculars: Nikon Aculon 10x50, Celestron 15x70, Baader Maxbright. Mounts: Star Seeker IV, Vixen Porta II, Celestron CG5
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Re: Mercury and Saturn.

#5

Post by Jnicholes »


I will try to get a picture, but I’m not sure how visible Saturn is going to be. It’s pretty close to the sun.

It won’t stop me from trying, though.
Celestron Nexstar 8SE Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope
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Goto mount
Iphone 11 Nightcap app Camera

"Our minds are finite, and yet even in these circumstances of finitude we are surrounded by possibilities that are infinite, and the purpose of life is to grasp as much as we can out of that infinitude."

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Re: Mercury and Saturn.

#6

Post by JayTee »


notFritzArgelander wrote: Mon Jan 10, 2022 4:58 pm The definition of a conjunction is that the objects have either the same right ascension or the same ecliptic longitude. The latter definition is older and IMO more correct but practically speaking the difference is slight.
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Re: Mercury and Saturn.

#7

Post by jrkirkham »


I grabbed a quick picture of Mercury last night. If you are going to take one you might want to see if you can catch Mercury again just before sunrise around the first part of February when it gets to its greatest western elongation.
Rob
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