Saturn is visible low in the southeast early in the evening, but is most visible in the south near midnight. It is much dimmer than Jupiter, but brighter than all nearby objects. Last-quarter moon will occur Sat. The two cosmonauts who were flown to the Mir space station aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis in July are scheduled to return to earth on Sept. 11 in a Russian Soyuz capsule. September 15 marks the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the U.S. Magellan spacecraft's complete radar mapping of the surface of Venus.
Radar is able to penetrate Venus' thick, cloudy atmosphere.
Data from Magellan have led to several significant scientific discoveries about our sister planet. About 1000 Earths would fit inside Jupiter, and about 1000 Jupiters would fit inside the Sun. To unsubscribe, replace subscribe with the word unsubscribe. SJI carries out research and education in Planetary Science, Earth Science, and Astronomy, with funding provided by NASA and other government grants and private donations. Partial funding for SJI's Sky and Space Update has been provided by NASA's Solar System Exploration Division.