Sun set: 5:45 pm

Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous

Weather conditions: Raining and cloudy.

Planets: Mars and Jupiter were almost directly overhead, Mars slightly more east and is in Gemini. Jupiter is slightly west and is in Taurus (which is cool because I'm a Taurus). I saw Jupiter earlier in the week getting home from school one day when it wasn't rainy and cloudy, and it was very bright! Mars is also beautiful and more of an amber color. To add, Venus is very far west, almost at the horizon, but still visible.

In the coming weeks, I want to try going up to the elementary school near my house one night. It has a really open field so I feel that I may have better visibility there and be able to see more than in my backyard. Also, I don't have a telescope but one of my friends has really strong binoculars, so we may try to use those.

Sun set: 5:52 pm

Moon Phase: Waning Crescent

Weather conditions: Windy and cold but clear skies!

Planets: The planets I saw were very similar to last week and in similar positions in the sky from what I can remember. I saw Mars, Jupiter, and Venus. To add, I used the app to search for where planets are in the sky, but both Saturn and Mercury were below the horizon and Uranus and Neptune are too dim to see without a telescope.

Sun set: 5:58 pm

Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent

Weather conditions: The sky was completely clear!

Planets: Seven of the planets were aligned tonight! I was able to see Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter when I went out. Saturn was supposed to be visible, but I don't think I stayed out long enough to see it. Venus was extremely bright though! Also, I found Mercury, but it was super tiny.

I met someone up at the school that had also went up to see the planets aligned. She was so sweet and let me use her binoculars, and I was able to see the moon really clearly. It was so cool to see it just after being a new moon because it was such a small crescent. Overall, I had a really great time and will probably start going up to the school more often to do this project since I was able to see so much more than in my backyard.

Sun set: 7:08 pm

Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous

Weather conditions: Clear skies, and not too cold. It is a little windy though.

Planets: Venus was very bright, but it was close to the horizon so a little difficult to see in the beginning. Also, Mars was easy to find because it was bright and close to the moon. I'm happy it was so clear tonight - most of the planets were pretty easy to spot. I also found Jupiter and used the app to find that Mercury was still at the horizon when I was outside.

Sun set: 7:14 pm

Moon Phase: Full Moon

Weather conditions: Partly cloudy and colder than it has been recently.

Planets: Like the constellations, the planets were a little difficult to see tonight. Luckily there was some visibility and Venus was very bright so I was able to see it. Venus was very close to the horizon though, like Mercury. Mars was right overhead, but I wasn't able to really see it, and Jupiter was slightly southwest of Mars.

Sun set: 7:21 pm

Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous

Weather conditions: The skies were clear!! It was a little cold, but the weather has been getting warmer recently.

Planets: North of Orion was Jupiter. Jupiter again was very bright and easy to spot. Also, Mars was easy to find, as it was directly overhead, only slightly east of Jupiter. No other planets were visible sadly. I did a little research and learned that Mercury and Venus both set very early today, around half an hour after sunset.

Sun set: 7:30 pm

Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent

Weather conditions: It was a little cloudy today but was beautiful outside. It definitely feels like Spring now.

Planets: Jupiter was very bright, and I could see it through the clouds because they were pretty thin. Mars was completely behind the clouds though and Venus and Mercury were both below the horizon.

Now that the weather is getting nicer, I am going to try to go up to the elementary school near my house more often to do this project. It is so interesting to see patterns in what I have been seeing start to shift. For example, when I started the project, I could usually see Mercury and Venus near the horizon, but now they are always below the horizon. After this class is over, I hope to keep going out to look at the night sky like this every so often to continue to see these patterns and hopefully continue to improve my ability to see constellations! I love learning about the history behind them all!!

Sun set: 7:35 pm

Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous

Weather conditions: It was partly cloudy and not too cold.

Planets: Mars was extremely close to the Moon tonight! Jupiter was around halfway between Mars and the horizon, and was pretty bright. Uranus was between Jupiter and the horizon, in the same line as Mars and Jupiter but was too dim for me to see. Mercury, Venus, and Saturn were all below the horizon.

I've also loved researching all of the things I've observed, from constellations to why we see certain planets at specific spots in the sky at different times of the year. Also, learning about the planets in this unit has really put everything in the solar system into perspective. It's crazy to think about how little we know overall about the universe, but it's also amazing to think about how much we have discovered. It is so exciting to know that we live in such an age of discovery when it comes to outer space!

Sun set: 7:43 pm

Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous

Weather conditions: The sky was very clear tonight.

Planets: Mercury, Venus, and Saturn were all below the horizon, so I could not see them. I was able to see Mars and Jupiter though. Jupiter and Mars have been moving more West, as compared to when Mars was almost directly overhead a few weeks ago.

Sun set: 7:56 pm

Moon Phase: New Moon

Weather conditions: Warm with cool skies.

Planets: Mars and Jupiter are visible in the sky tonight! Jupiter is much closer to the horizon than I am used to seeing it. Mercury, Venus, and Saturn, are apparently visible just under an hour before sunrise.

Sun set: 8:03 pm

Moon Phase: First Quarter

Weather conditions: Cloudy. It has been raining on and off all day.

Planets: Mars and Jupiter are visible tonight, with Mars in Cancer west of the Moon and Jupiter far West of Mars, closer to the horizon. Mercury, Venus, and Saturn are all visible just before sunrise.

Also! May the fourth be with you! I've loved getting to research Star Wars for my project and though Star Wars is not the most accurate when it comes to artificial gravity in space flight, there are a lot of science fiction films that are more accurate than I expected. Now I feel like I am always looking out for details that I've learned in this class in science fiction movies to see how accurate they are. Anyways, I'm very excited for you to hear about it in my project!!

Sun set: 8:09 pm

Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous

Weather conditions: Party cloudy but warm out.

Planets: I was able to find Mars despite the clouds, but Jupiter was a little close to the horizon and probably hidden by the clouds. I've never seen Jupiter this low to the horizon. Also, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn are still completely below the horizon at this time.

I can't believe this is the last night sky journal! It has truly been a joy to do this project. Every week I have really looked forward to doing it and am definitely planning to continue keeping a journal or something of this nature after this week. I feel like I've learned so much and have gotten so much better at identifying planets and constellations. Astronomy was the field I wanted to go into from elementary school until basically last year, and even though I'm going to be going to college for creative writing, I feel like this class has rekindled my love and fascination for outer space. Thank you so much for an out of this world semester!