Watch a Live Feed of This Weekend's Spectacular Planetary Alignment

Get ready for some awesome planetary alignment action this weekend.

The moon, Venus, and Jupiter — the three brightest objects in the night sky — will be putting on a dazzling celestial show shortly after sunset both Feb. 25 and 26, coming together in a tight triangle. With any luck, you might also spot tiny Mercury down near the horizon just as the sun goes down.

People all over the world can check out the performance just by stepping outside and looking westward. If snowstorms or general chilliness drive you inside, you can always watch the spectacular event live on the Slooh Space Camera feed, starting both nights at 6:30 p.m. PST.

As an added bonus, those who tune into the web show can hear some choice scientific tidbits as Slooh’s Patrick Paolucci talks to Astronomy Magazine columnist Bob Berman and other special guests. You can also watch a live hangout on the group’s Google Plus page.

Planets can be distinguished from stars in the night sky because they don’t twinkle. This is because they are much closer to us and their light doesn’t get completely distorted by Earth’s atmosphere.

The planetary alignment will continue through the end of the month, with Venus and Jupiter inching ever closer. By late February, the two worlds will appear less than 10 degrees apart, able to be hidden behind an outstretched clenched fist. In March Venus and Jupiter will continue converging until, on Mar. 13, they will be only three degrees (or about two fingers) apart.

If all this isn’t enough, turn around and face eastward during this time to spot the bright red dot of Mars rising shortly after sunset. Mars will grow slightly larger in the sky as it gets nearer to Earth, coming closest around Mar. 5.

Saturn, the final planet visible to the naked eye, will appear in the east shortly before midnight during this period, shining highest in the sky in the hours leading up to dawn.

Videos: 1) Slooh Space Camera. 2) NASA

Adam is a Wired Science reporter and freelance journalist. He lives in Oakland, Ca near a lake and enjoys space, physics, and other sciency things.
Follow @adamspacemann on Twitter.

View the original article here

Watch a Live Feed of This Weekend's Spectacular Planetary Alignment

Get ready for some awesome planetary alignment action this weekend.

The moon, Venus, and Jupiter — the three brightest objects in the night sky — will be putting on a dazzling celestial show shortly after sunset both Feb. 25 and 26, coming together in a tight triangle. With any luck, you might also spot tiny Mercury down near the horizon just as the sun goes down.

People all over the world can check out the performance just by stepping outside and looking westward. If snowstorms or general chilliness drive you inside, you can always watch the spectacular event live on the Slooh Space Camera feed, starting both nights at 6:30 p.m. PST.

As an added bonus, those who tune into the web show can hear some choice scientific tidbits as Slooh’s Patrick Paolucci talks to Astronomy Magazine columnist Bob Berman and other special guests. You can also watch a live hangout on the group’s Google Plus page.

Planets can be distinguished from stars in the night sky because they don’t twinkle. This is because they are much closer to us and their light doesn’t get completely distorted by Earth’s atmosphere.

The planetary alignment will continue through the end of the month, with Venus and Jupiter inching ever closer. By late February, the two worlds will appear less than 10 degrees apart, able to be hidden behind an outstretched clenched fist. In March Venus and Jupiter will continue converging until, on Mar. 13, they will be only three degrees (or about two fingers) apart.

If all this isn’t enough, turn around and face eastward during this time to spot the bright red dot of Mars rising shortly after sunset. Mars will grow slightly larger in the sky as it gets nearer to Earth, coming closest around Mar. 5.

Saturn, the final planet visible to the naked eye, will appear in the east shortly before midnight during this period, shining highest in the sky in the hours leading up to dawn.

Videos: 1) Slooh Space Camera. 2) NASA

Adam is a Wired Science reporter and freelance journalist. He lives in Oakland, Ca near a lake and enjoys space, physics, and other sciency things.
Follow @adamspacemann on Twitter.

View the original article here

Watch gas prices jump 10 cents during ABC's 'World News' broadcast

The headlines of major newspapers and TV networks this week have been dominated by rising gas prices.  

Drivers across the country have shared their stories on the cost - with many already paying more than $4 a gallon at the pump.  There have even been reports of gas prices rising at a rate of 10 to 15 cents in a matter of hours.     

Read:  How high will gas prices go?

The swiftness at which those gas prices continue to climb was crystal clear Wednesday night during the broadcast of ABC News' "World News with Diane Sawyer." 

As ABC News' Cecilia Vega introduced her piece on high gas prices, the sign at the downtown Los Angeles gas station behind her showed the price of regular gas at $4.99 a gallon.   However when the piece concluded nearly two minutes later the price of regular gas had jumped 10 cents to $5.09 a gallon.  

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Even Vega seemed truly surprised to see such a drastic change in such a short period of time, telling Sawyer that "it is almost too unbelievable to believe." 

"It went up 10 cents?" asked Sawyer, herself shocked at what just had occurred. 

"Ten cents during that two minutes while we were on the air," confirmed Vega.

Watch the exchange here:

Also Read

View the original article here