Today we rode our bicycles through the Solar System!
On today’s bike ride on the bike trail next to Bicentennial
Boulevard in McAllen we were discussing the solar system.
There is a really great scale model of the
solar system just south of Nolana on Bicentennial Boulevard.
It turns out that the evening sky is
reinforcing some of the things we were talking about. You can see all four of the rocky inner
planets this evening in the sky. Look to
the west just above where the setting sun is fading and you will notice Venus
first, then as the sky darkens you may be able to see Mars and Mercury in the
positions shown on this diagram of the sky.
The sky is shown for January 21 so on the 21st you will see
the Moon next to Venus. Each night the
Moon climbs higher in the sky. On the 22nd
it will be next to Mars and on the 23rd it will be above all the
other planets. Mercury will not be
visible for more than a few nights so if you miss it now it will be several
months until it reappears in the morning sky.
Mars will be slowly sinking in the sky in the next few weeks and Venus
meanwhile is rising higher each evening.
By the way, I mentioned only three planets, Mercury, Venus
and Mars. Look down at your feet and
there is Earth!
The commentary below this diagram is from Sky and Telescope
Magazine, the source of this information.
There is a link in the message below if you want to read more.
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