Hello All!   
      
   A Good Reason to Wake Up at Dawn    
      
   July 3, 2012: Summer is a good time to relax, sleep late, enjoy a break from   
   school or work.  Waking before sunrise is just not done.   
      
   This summer is a little different.  To find out why, set your alarm for dawn.   
      
   Every morning this July, the two brightest planets in the solar system will   
   put on a show before sunrise.  Look out any east-facing window to see Venus   
   and Jupiter, shining side by side, so close together you can hide them behind   
   your outstretched palm.  It's a great way to start the day.    
      
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTxazv-wdp4   
      
   A new ScienceCast video previews the July 2012 sunrise sky show. Play it!   
   On the 4th of July, Venus will be passing dead-center through the Hyades   
   cluster, a loose grouping of stars 153 light years from Earth.   Using   
   binoculars, scan around the bright planet; you'll see dozens of stars   
   scattered across the velvety-black sky. The temporary addition of Venus will   
   make it seem that a supernova has gone off in the cluster.   
      
   Three mornings later, on July 7th, Venus and Jupiter line up with Aldebaran,   
   the bright red eye of Taurus the Bull.  Aldebaran is a red giant star of first   
   magnitude.  Together with Venus and Jupiter, it forms an almost perfect   
   vertical line in the brightening dawn sky.    
      
   Earthshine is also known as "the Da Vinci Glow," after Leonardo Da Vinci who   
   first explained the phenomenon. moreThe best, however, is yet to come.    
      
   On July 9th, Venus and Aldebaran converge to form an eye catching planet-star   
   pair.  Scarcely more than a degree of arc will separate the two celestial   
   bodies as Jupiter looks down from overhead.    
      
   And then, on July 15th, a 12% crescent Moon joins the show, forming a bright   
   celestial triangle with Venus and Jupiter.   
      
   The slender arms of the crescent cradle a ghostly image of the full Moon.    
   That's caused by Earthshine, sunlight reflected from our own planet onto the   
   otherwise dark lunar landscape.   
      
   A crescent Moon with Earthshine is considered to be one of the prettiest   
   sights in the heavens.  A crescent Moon with Earthshine plus Venus and   
   Jupiter--that's worth waking up for even in the middle of summer vacation.   
      
   Start the day with more news about the heavens at science.nasa.gov.    
      
      
   Author: Dr. Tony Phillips| Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit:   
   Science@NASA   
      
      
   Regards,   
      
   Roger    
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LA - (1:3828/7)