The king and queen of the planets are gracing our skies again. I hope you have seen them. Jupiter, the largest of the planets in our solar system, and Saturn with its beautiful rings are in the evening skies. They can be found in the southeast. Jupiter is very bright and slightly higher than Saturn, which is located nearby to its left. There are no competing stars in the area.

Naked-eye, they both appear as bright stars. With steadied binoculars you are able to see Jupiter as a disk and the four Galilean Moons very close to the planet. With a telescope, Saturn’s rings become quite obvious.

The observatory continues to be closed due to COVID-19. We are hoping to open again soon. If you would like to be on the email distribution list for the observatory, please send your email address to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will add you. humbleisd.net/observatory. 

Author: Aaron ClevensonEmail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I am the observatory director at the Insperity Observatory in Humble ISD. I am also an adjunct astronomy professor at Lone Star College-Montgomery where I teach solar system astronomy and stars and galaxies astronomy. I am the author of the astronomy textbook, “Astronomy for Mere Mortals.” I am a past president of the North Houston Astronomy Club, and was the chair of Astronomy Day in Southeast Texas in 2015 and 2016. He is an observing program director with The Astronomical League, coordinates their Master Observer Progression Awards, and has authored six of their observing programs.

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• Star Struck - "The Great Conjunction"
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