Celestial Almanack Update

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. ~Psalm 19:1-4

This weekend we had some great opportunities to see the planets Venus and Jupiter approach a conjunction (the conjunction itself will occur in March) near the moon.  I grabbed my copy of the February Celestial Almanack and carried it around with me in the evenings so we knew exactly what we were looking at, and I figured this was a good time to update on the review I did at the beginning of the month. 

The Celestial Almanack explained the conjunction, when to see it, and why this particular conjunction is pretty special.  It's unusual because although Venus and Jupiter often come together in the sky, we don't often get to see it.  Either they are too close to the Sun, or the conjunction happens at a time of year when they are too low on the horizon.  This is just one example of the many things we learned from the Celestial Almanack. 

My camera is just a simple point-and-shoot model, and really not intended for good night photos.  But I tried anyway, and have this not-great shot of what we saw from our house this evening.

Kennady is still pointing out Orion and any other constellations she recognizes every time we are out in the evening.  I came home this evening and decided I wanted to share this on Facebook and on my blog and give some more props to Jay Ryan for this great product, and encourage readers to check out the March edition, which I will be purchasing shortly.  And as I got started with posting, I found an email from Fourth Day Press, part of which appears below:

The NEW edition for March, 2012 is finally uploaded.  This is a SPECIAL EXPANDED EDITION that includes a whopping 24 pages of content!  And for the same low price of only $3.00!
March is a VERY EXCITING month for the sky!  Jupiter and Venus finally meet in the evening sky in a rare planetary conjunction!  An event this spectacular only happens every 24 years!  Make sure you and your kids do not miss this beautiful alignment of these brightest planets!
Also, learn about vernal equinox, and how the orientation of the sky in this season places the waxing crescent Moon, and the planets Venus and Mercury for their best evening viewing.  The planet Mars is at its brightest and most visible during March, 2012.  Learn how to find this body in the night sky.  Also, this edition includes important background information for the upcoming Transit of Venus in June!
I want everyone to see these beautiful events in the sky, rather than just sitting inside, like every other night.  99% of Americans will be indoors, watching “Dancing With The Stars,” rather than being outdoors, watching the dance of the stars! This is a tragedy, in my opinion. 350 million Americans, and 6 billion people on the Earth, will have the opportunity to see these sky event for free, if only they will trouble themselves to go outside and look. So join the 1%!

God bless and clear skies!  - jay ryan

Right now the March edition of the Celestial Almanack is available for download at CurrClick for only $3.00.  These Alamacks are absolutely loaded with information, and in my opinion, they are not just for homeschoolers, but would be great for anybody interested in classical astronomy or just in stargazing as a hobby.

You might also want to check out other products at the Classical Astronomy website.

This entry at the TOS Homeschool Crew blog will connect you to other reviews of the February edition.   My original review is here.


Note:  We received a complimentary copy of the February edition of Celestial Almanack in exchange for our honest opinions given in my original review.  I offer this update post as my personal recommendation of this product and received no compensation for it.