Uncle Milton Industries Star Theater SE User manual

Andromeda
Galaxy
Alpheratz
CETUS
(The Whale)
Arcturas
Spica
Regulos
Altair
Antares
ERIDANUS
(The River)
LEPUS
(The Hare)
Orion
Nebula
Procyon
Castor
Pollux
GREAT
SQUARE
2072-0607
BATTERY SAFETY INFORMATION
- Batteries are small objects. Batteries must be replaced by an adult.
- Follow the polarity (+/-) diagram in the battery compartment.
- Promptly remove dead batteries from the toy.
- Dispose of used batteries properly.
- Remove batteries for prolonged storage.
- Only batteries of same or equivalent type as recommended are to be used.
- DO NOT incinerate used batteries.
- DO NOT dispose of batteries in fire, as batteries may explode or leak.
- DO NOT mix old and new batteries or types of batteries (i.e. alkaline/standard).
- DO NOT use rechargeable batteries.
- DO NOT recharge non-rechargeable batteries.
- DO NOT short-circuit the supply terminals.
KEEP THESE INSTRUCTIONS FOR FUTURE REFERENCE — DO NOT DISCARD
Problems? Before taking this product back to the store, please contact us. We can help!
1-888-742-2484 or go to www.unclemilton.com
Quick Start
(See inside for full instruction)
1. Place on a table in the center of the room. Position toward north using the
compass.
2. To set for season: Rotate light wand until current season lines up with pointer.
3. To set for month and date: Rotate light wand until current month and date line up
with pointer.
4. To set for time: Turn the time ring to the hour the Sun sets. Then rotate light wand
left to the current time.
5. Close drapes or blinds and turn off room lights. Turn projection lamp on (but do
not look at it).
6. The sky, as it presently appears, is projected on the walls and ceiling. Slowly rotate
the light wand to the left to watch the stars rise in the east and set in the west. The
time ring shows the correct time as the sky’s east-west movement progresses.
Instruction Manual
®
Uncle Milton Industries, Inc. Westlake Village, CA 91362
© UMI. All rights reserved. Star Theater is a registered trademark of UMI.
®
AGES 8 AND UP
2072
Home Planetarium Projector
Home Planetarium Projector
with Astronomy Software
with Astronomy Software
Home Planetarium Projector
with Astronomy Software

Andromeda
Galaxy
Alpheratz
CETUS
(The Whale)
Arcturas
Spica
Regulos
Altair
Antares
ERIDANUS
(The River)
LEPUS
(TheHare)
Orion
Nebula
Procyon
Castor
Pollux
GREAT
SQUARE
3
Table of Contents
Discover the Universe!
Your Own Planetarium
What is a Constellation?
The Star Sphere & Starlight Dome
Planetarium Operation
Installing Batteries for the Light Wand
Installing Batteries for the Night Light
Using the AC adapter
Installing Batteries for the Meteor Maker
Operating Your Planetarium with the Star Sphere
Setting the Date and Time
Using the Starlight Dome
Meteors and Comets
Using the Cosmic Night light
Care and Maintenance
The Constellations
The Moving Sky
Into the Night With Your Planetarium
The Constellations of the Zodiac
How to Find the Visible Planets
How to Project the Visible Planets
Stellarium Astronomy Software
Learn More About Astronomy
Planet Information Table
Annual Meteor Showers
Planet Position Tables
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Audio CD script by Susan Cannon
Music and audio production by Donovan Reimer
Home Planetarium Projector
with Astronomy Software

Andromeda
Galaxy
Alpheratz
CETUS
(The Whale)
Arcturas
Spica
Regulos
Altair
Antares
ERIDANUS
(The River)
LEPUS
(The Hare)
Orion
Nebula
Procyon
Castor
Pollux
GREAT
SQUARE
4 5
Your Own Planetarium
Have you ever been to a planetarium show? Do you remember when you sat back and saw the
night sky projected by a star projector, while the astronomer guided you on a journey through
space and time? Remember how fun and interesting that show was? Your planetarium does
much the same thing, right in your own room.
Your planetarium allows you to...
• Project stars, outlines of the constellations, and their names on the walls and ceiling all
around you
• Project an accurate star field on your walls and ceiling
• Project the night sky for any season or month of the year with its one-piece, fully-integrated
Star Sphere
• Accurately project the night sky by date and hour
• Project the night sky in its correct directional orientation
• Project a realistic meteor shower across the night sky in your room
• Locate and project the visible planets for any time of the year
• Treat yourself and your friends to an exciting sight and sound tour of the night sky
• Have a cosmic night light in your bedroom
With your planetarium, you will learn the locations of the brightest and easiest-to-find
constellations, stars and planets. By taking the tour and reading this guide, you will come away
with a good understanding of the night sky
What is a Constellation?
If you look at the stars in the night sky long enough, you will notice how groups of stars form
familiar objects, something like connect-the-dots pictures. Many centuries ago, people who
gazed at the stars noticed pictures out there and gave names to them. This helped them create
a “map” of the night sky, making it easier to locate the stars.
But these figures are not really sitting out there in space. They are only imaginary patterns
created by the relative positions of the stars as we see them from Earth. Some stars that appear
to be right next to each other are in fact very far apart. They just look close together from where
we are looking at them on Earth. If you could somehow see the night sky from another part of
the galaxy, the relative positions of the stars would be completely different and you would be
able to discover totally new constellations.
SUMMER
Jack for optional AC adapter
(not included)
Star Sphere
Horizon Ring
Meteor Maker
On/Off
Meteor Maker
Holder
Light Wand
On/Off
Light Wand
Holder
Night Light
On/Off
Bulb
Starlight Dome
Compass
Discover the Universe!
Welcome to the amazing world of astronomy! Astronomers spend their time discovering the
nature of space and everything in it. As big as our planet Earth is, it is just one of nine planets
orbiting the Sun, which is just one of billions of stars in our home galaxy, the Milky Way, which is
just one of billions of galaxies in the universe. So you can see that it will be a long, long time, if
ever, until astronomers run out of things to discover!
Home Planetarium Projector
with Astronomy Software

Andromeda
Galaxy
Alpheratz
CETUS
(The Whale)
Arcturas
Spica
Regulos
Altair
Antares
ERIDANUS
(The River)
LEPUS
(The Hare)
Orion
Nebula
Procyon
Castor
Pollux
GREAT
SQUARE
67
The Star Sphere & Starlight Dome
The Star SphereTM is a replica in miniature of the largest and brightest objects in space
surrounding our planet. If you were to put Earth in the sphere, it would be located at the exact
center, where the light bulb is. The dots printed on the sphere represent stars. The glow-in-the
dark dots represent the brightest, easiest-to-find stars. The lines connecting the stars show the
constellations.
About 99% of visible stars like those on the star sphere are in the solar neighborhood. That
means they are within about 100 light-years of Earth. This is nearby, compared to the other stars
in the spiral arm of our galaxy where our solar system is located. A light-year is the distance light
can travel in one year, which is about 6 trillion (6,000,000,000,000 ) miles (or 9,500,000,000,000
kilometers)!
The Starlight DomeTM allows you to project an accurate star field on your walls and ceiling. It
shows the stars as you would see them on a clear night.
Planetarium Operation
The Star Sphere & Starlight Dome can be powered by
three (3) AA batteries or by an optional AC adapter
(sold separately).
Installing Batteries for the Light Wand
1. Remove light wand from base.
2. With a small Phillips head screwdriver, remove the
screw on the battery cap. Unscrew battery cap
located at the end of wand. Gently shake the wand
so that the battery module slides out (see Fig. 1 & 2).
3. Insert three (3) AA batteries into battery module,
making sure the “+” and “-” ends are in correct
placement as indicated on module. Alkaline
batteries are recommended.
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Align
Battery
Module
with
groove
Battery
Cap
Battery
Module
Battery Cap
Screw
Fig. 6
Meteor Maker
Fig. 5
Night Light
Fig. 4
Jack for optional
AC adapter
(not included)
AC Adapter Plug
SUMMER
4. Insert battery module into light
wand, making sure the grooves
align (see Fig. 3). Replace battery
cap and Phillips head screw (do
not over-tighten). Place the light
wand back into base.
Installing Batteries for the Night Light
1. Turn Star Theater SE on its side and,
using a small Phillips head
screwdriver, remove the battery
cover.
2. Insert three (3) “AAA”batteries. Make
sure the “+”and“-”ends are inserted
correctly, as indicated (see Fig. 5).
3. Replace battery cover.
Installing Batteries for the Meteor Maker
1. Snap Meteor Maker holder onto base.
2. With a small Phillips head screwdriver,
remove battery cover from Meteor
Maker. Insert two (2) AAA batteries
making sure the “+” and “-” ends are in
correct placement as indicated in the
battery compartment. Alkaline batteries
are recommended (see Fig. 6).
3. Replace the battery cover and place
Meteor Maker in its holder.
Using an Optional AC Adapter Jack
1. Insert the adapter plug into the jack
(see Fig. 4).
2. Plug the AC adapter into an electrical
outlet.
Home Planetarium Projector
with Astronomy Software

Andromeda
Galaxy
Alpheratz
CETUS
(The Whale)
Arcturas
Spica
Regulos
Altair
Antares
ERIDANUS
(The River)
LEPUS
(The Hare)
Orion
Nebula
Procyon
Castor
Pollux
GREAT
SQUARE
89
Using the Starlight Dome
Time
Ring
Pointer
Date
Selector
Push a paper
clip into this
hole to release
Star Sphere
Operating Your Planetarium with the Star Sphere
1. Place your planetarium on a table in the center of the room. A room with smooth, light
colored walls and ceiling works best. A room that is roughly square and no larger than 12 x
12 feet provides the best projection quality. Put the CD into a CD player.
2. Rotate your planetarium so that N (north) on compass lines up with the raised dot. This
allows your planetarium to project the stars in the same directional orientation as they are in
the real night sky outside.
Your planetarium projects stars that are visible from Earth's Northern Hemisphere, including
North and Central America, Hawaii, Europe, Russia, Asia, northern Africa, and the Middle East.
3. Date selector is located on the light wand. To set your planetarium for the beginning of the
audio tour, rotate light wand until “AUTUMN”lines up with pointer on the holder. At various
breaks during the audio tour, you will be asked to pause the CD and adjust your planetarium
for the next season. (The month and date settings and the time ring will be used after the
audio tour to set your planetarium for a specific date and time of day.)
4. Remove Meteor Maker from its stand and keep it close at hand, since you will use it during
the tour to point out objects and to create meteor showers.
5. Close window drapes or blinds. Turn on projection lamp. (Do not look directly at the Star
Sphere while its light is on, or you will lose your darkness adaptation.)
6. Start the audio tour CD, turn off the lights, sit back and enjoy the show.
Setting the Date and Time
Once you've taken the audio tour, you can set your planetarium to project the night sky for any
date and hour. You can easily adjust your planetarium for any date you wish: your birthday, a
holiday, the final day of school, last Thursday, or any other date. Here is how:
1. Setting the date: With projection lamp off, turn light wand until the month you want lines
up with the pointer. Below the month, there are markings indicating the 1st, 10th and 20th
of the month. Turn light wand to the left (so that Star Sphere turns to the west) until the date
you want lines up with the pointer. For example, if you want to project the night sky the way
it is on July 4, first select July, then turn further to the left, to just past the mark for the 1st
day of the month.
2. Setting the time: Once you have selected the month and date, rotate the time ring (without
turning the light wand) so that the time at which the
Sun sets lines up with the pointer. (The time of sunset
is can be found in the local newspaper or on the
Internet.) Now turn the light wand to the exact time
you want. (Don't worry that the months and dates are
changing on the date selector as you are adjusting
the time; once you've selected the date and set the
time ring for sunset, the time selection function takes
over.) You can set your planetarium to project the
stars for any time of the night. You can even see what
stars are up during the day, when they are not visible.
Meteors and Comets
Use the Meteor Maker to simulate a fascinating phenomenon of the night sky, a meteor shower.
Insert the meteor image slide in the slot at the front of the Meteor Maker. (Store the other one in
the slot at the rear.) Point the Meteor Maker at the ceiling or a wall, push the button, and wave it
to make the image streak across the room. Store the Meteor Maker in its holder when not in use.
A comet is basically a big rock, made of ice and dust, that orbits the Sun in a wide, elliptical path.
Most comets take many years to complete a full orbit. One of the most famous, Comet Halley,
visits the inner solar system once every 76 years. Comets are smaller than planets. Some are
relatively small in size and some are many miles across.
A meteoroid is a tiny particle, usually about the size of a grain of sand, that was left behind by a
comet. When it comes close to Earth and enters the atmosphere, it burns up brightly and is
called a meteor. Usually, meteors come in large bunches. During a meteor shower thousands of
meteors can be seen streaking across the sky for several nights. A meteorite is a meteor that fell
to the ground without burning up. (See Annual Meteor Showers table on page 18.)
12
3 4
Remove Star Sphere as shown. Push a paper clip into the hole as shown.
To unlock the Star Sphere, rotate and
lift off the light wand.
Place light wand back into base. Place Starlight Dome onto base and
turn on light wand.
Home Planetarium Projector
with Astronomy Software

Andromeda
Galaxy
Alpheratz
CETUS
(The Whale)
Arcturas
Spica
Regulos
Altair
Antares
ERIDANUS
(The River)
LEPUS
(The Hare)
Orion
Nebula
Procyon
Castor
Pollux
GREAT
SQUARE
Using the Cosmic
Night Light
To turn on the cosmic night light, press the button
shown. Press the button again to turn off the light.
Care and Maintenance
Remove batteries when not in use for extended
periods. Keep Star Sphere clean with a soft cloth
and quality anti-static cleaner/polish. Never use
abrasive cleaners.
Bulb replacement: Replacement bulbs are available at most electronics retailers. Light wand:
3.6v, 500 ma, Part No. LR00001.
1. Remove Star Sphere and light wand from base.
2. Push a paper clip into the small hole
directly above the on/off button. At the
same time, rotate light wand
counterclockwise to Star Sphere. Remove
it from Star Sphere (see Fig. 7).
3. Carefully pull old projection lamp out of
tip of light wand.
4. Insert replacement bulb into tip of light
wand (see Fig. 8). (Important: Be careful
not to bend prongs of the bulb.) Turn light
wand on to make sure bulb lights up, then
turn it off.
5. Reinsert light wand into Star Sphere.
Rotate light wand clockwise until it clicks
into place. This is important for accurate
date and time adjustments.
6. Place Star Sphere and light wand back into
base with light wand in its holder.
Night light
On/Off
The Constellations
Constellations are imaginary pictures created by connecting stars together with imaginary lines.
These "star patterns" were usually named after ancient Mesopotamian and Greek gods, heroes
and animals. Today's astronomers consider constellations as agreed-upon regions of the sky
containing groups of stars. There are 88 official constellations.
Each constellation can contain dozens, if not hundreds, of visible stars. The following star maps
show the brighter stars — the ones you see when looking for star groupings in the night sky.
The "connect-the-dot" lines will help you as you learn these constellations. You will also see the
mythological drawings of some of the constellations.
The constellations are divided into five different groupings; the stars in the northern sky and the
stars of each season. It's important to remember that the seasonal groupings are a general
guide. For example, winter constellations are not just visible during the winter months of
December, January and February. (Experiment with your Star Theater to discover why!) The
season refers to the time of year the group of constellations becomes easily visible in the night
sky after the Sun sets.
The seasonal groupings also help us understand the cycle of the sky. Because of the Earth's
annual orbit around the Sun, the stars in the night sky change over the course of a year. But due
to the fixed nature of the constellations, spring stars always follow the winter stars into the sky,
summer stars follow the spring stars, etc. Learning the brighter constellations from each season
will open the door to understanding the entire night sky.
The Moving Sky
The horizon ring is an important part of your planetarium. It divides the sky into two halves, the
visible and the nonvisible. In the course of 24 hours, all of the objects visible from a given
location on Earth seem to rise in the east and set in the west.
To see all the stars that are visible from the Northern Hemisphere, slowly rotate the light wand to
the left (westward) while the projection lamp is on. Do you notice that some stars around Polaris
never set while some of the stars that can be seen from the Southern Hemisphere (at the
opposite pole of the star sphere from Polaris) never rise in the Northern Hemisphere?
Just for practice, adjust your planetarium to project the stars visible in the evening of March 20,
which is about the first day of spring for us. Which constellations will be on the meridian (the arc
spanning across the sky from pole to pole)? Which constellations will be rising and which will be
setting? That’s easy! With the projection lamp off, set the date selector to March 20, and then set
the time ring to the time at which the Sun sets (about 6:30 PM). Turn off the room lights, turn the
projection lamp on, and see what constellations are up!
Push a paper
clip into this
hole to release
Star Sphere
Fig. 7
Projection
Lamp Wand
Fig. 8
Projection
Lamp
Collar
10 11
Home Planetarium Projector
with Astronomy Software

Andromeda
Galaxy
Alpheratz
CETUS
(The Whale)
Arcturas
Spica
Regulos
Altair
Antares
ERIDANUS
(The River)
LEPUS
(The Hare)
Orion
Nebula
Procyon
Castor
Pollux
GREAT
SQUARE
14 15
Into the Night With Your Planetarium
Your planetarium can be taken outdoors into the night for use as a 3-D star map. Remove the
Star Sphere and light wand from the base and hold it in your hand. The brightest stars will glow
in the dark on the Star Sphere after you have“charged” it by turning the projection lamp on for a
few moments. (Don’t look at the Star Sphere while charging it, or you will lose your darkness
adaptation.)
For a more accurate reading, set the Star Sphere in its base on a table outside. Adjust
it for the current date and time. Use the compass to position your planetarium to point north.
Turn the projection lamp on and use a sheet of white paper for a projection screen. The stars
projected onto the paper can guide you to the stars that appear in the night sky.
The Constellations of the Zodiac
The constellations of the zodiac are the oldest star patterns, with Taurus the bull being the most
ancient of them all. Because of the Earth's orbit around the Sun once a year, the Sun seems to move
against the background stars. The path the Sun appears to take is called the ecliptic. The zodiacal
constellations lay along the ecliptic, which made them very important star patterns to the ancient
peoples who relied on the night sky as their calendar.
While this 2-D map of the zodiacal constellations shows the ecliptic as a curved line, your
planetarium projects this path as a great circle around the entire sky. Turn on your planetarium and
project the stars onto a wall. Rotate it slowly so you follow the constellations of the zodiac through
one year.
Usually, the region of the sky where stars first appear is near the zenith (straight up). Look up
and you should see the circumpolar constellation, Orion the Hunter (including the big dipper).
Rising in the northeast is Cygnus the Swan. It will be in the sky all night. Meanwhile, setting in
the northwest is Auriga the Charioters, almost out of sight. Setting on the west are Gemini the
Twins and Canus Minor the Little Dog. As the night moves on, the stars appear to slowly move
west. If you want to see what the sky will look like at 9PM, rotate the light wand left (westward)
to 9:00 PM.
Although we can’t feel it, the Earth rotates eastward at about 800 miles per hour at its surface.
The stars, Sun and moon appear to us to move westward when, in fact, we are the ones that are
moving eastward. Because of this, it seems like any given constellation or star takes about 24
hours to make one round trip around the Earth.
Astronomers, ancient and modern, counted on this 24 hour trip, day after year after century.
They agreed to divide the east-to-west movement of stars into 24 equal parts.
Astronomers picked the spot in the sky where the ecliptic (the path the Sun takes in relation to
Earth during a year) crosses the celestial equator as the Sun heads north, for the point at which
the 24 hour celestial cycle begins. This is the vernal point, the first day of spring in the Northern
Hemisphere.
Home Planetarium Projector
with Astronomy Software
ECLIPTIC
ECLIPTIC
LEO CANCER GEMINI
AURIGA PERSEUS
CANIS MINOR
CANIS MINOR
ORION
LEPUS ERIDANUS CETUS
TAURUS
ARIES
PISCES
ANDROMEDA
PEGASUS
CYGNUS
AQUILA
LYRA
AQUARIUS
CAPRICORNUS
SAGITTARIUS SCORPIUS
VIRGO
LIBRA
BOOTES
HERCULES

Andromeda
Galaxy
Alpheratz
CETUS
(The Whale)
Arcturas
Spica
Regulos
Altair
Antares
ERIDANUS
(The River)
LEPUS
(The Hare)
Orion
Nebula
Procyon
Castor
Pollux
GREAT
SQUARE
Rank Name Constellation Hemisphere
1. Sirius Canis Major N & S
2. Canopus Carina S
3. Alpha Centauri Centauri S
4. Arcturus Boôtes N & S
5. Vega Lyra N & S
6. Capella Auriga N & S
7. Rigel Orion N & S
8. Procyon Canis Minor N & S
9. Achernar Eridanus S
10. Hadar Centauri S
11. Betelgeuse Orion N & S
12. Altair Aquila N & S
13. Aldebaran Taurus N & S
14. Acrux Crux S
15. Antares Scorpius N & S
16. Spica Virgo N & S
17. Pollux Gemini N & S
18. Fomalhaut Pisces Austrinis N & S
19. Deneb Cygnus N & S
20. Beta Crucis Crux S
21. Regulus Leo N & S
22. Adhara Canis Major N & S
23. Castor Gemini N & S
24. Shaula Scorpius S
25. Bellatrix Orion N & S
16 17
Take your time as you cruise the cosmos. Pick out a few of the brightest stars and study the stars
near them. Use the constellations to guide you to the dimmer stars that can easily escape the
casual observer.
For easier star watching, you will need to give your eyes time to adjust to the darkness.
Astronomers call this becoming darkness adapted. You will see best after about 20 minutes in
the dark. Care should be taken not to look directly at the bright projection lamp inside your
planetarium, so you don’t ruin your night vision.
Here are the 25 brightest stars, after the Sun, each listed by its common name, constellation in
which it can be found, and hemisphere from which it is visible: How to Find the Visible Planets
Officially, there are eight planets and at least three dwarf planets in our solar system. Four of the
planets can be seen without the aid of a telescope or binoculars: Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
(Mercury stays close to the Sun, so it is very difficult to see. Ceres is too small and Uranus, Neptune,
Pluto and Eris are too far away to see without a high-powered telescope.) As they move in the sky
throughout the year, each appears to pass through certain constellations (the twelve zodiac
constellations plus four others) at any given time. This makes it easy to find them.
The Planet Position Tables in the back of this booklet show you where to locate the visible planets.
Look at how much a planet changes position and compare that to the planet’s distance from the
Sun. Notice that the planets farthest from the Sun change position more slowly than the planets
closer to the Sun. Jupiter spends about a year drifting through a zodiac constellation, while Saturn
takes two years. Meanwhile, Mars and Venus go speeding through the zodiac constellations.
How to Project the Visible Planets
You can use the information in the Planet Position Tables in the back of this booklet to project the
planets with your planetarium. With the planet slide inserted in the Meteor Maker you can project
the locations of the planets. Suppose you want to project Jupiter as it appears July 2010.
You can
see from the planet position table for 2010 that Jupiter will be in the constellation Pisces in July.
Set your planetarium to project a July sky at about two hours after sunset. Point the Meteor
Maker at Pisces and turn it on.
Jupiter is now in Pisces, high in the southeast sky! During the night it will move across the sky
and finally disappear over the western horizon in the morning.
Use the same method to find and project the other visible planets. As the nights go by, you can
compare the planets’positions in relation to the stars. Soon you will discover that as the planets
make their orbits around the Sun, they do move against the background stars as they travel
along the zodiac.
Stellarium Astronomy Software
The included Stellarium Astronomy computer software lets you explore the cosmos in great
detail. You can view the night sky for any time—past, present or future—and from any point on
Earth. You can see the constellations and their names and you can locate the positions of stars,
nebulas, planets, and their moons. Insert the Stellarium disk into your computer’s CD player and
follow the set-up instructions on the screen. The software is compatible with either PC or Mac.
(Note: Software is not currently compatible with Windows Vista or Macs using Intel Processors.)
System requirements: Windows XP or Mac OS X with at least 500 MHz processor, 128 MB RAM
and 500 MB of hard disk space . Minimum recommended monitor resolutions is 1024 x 768 pixels.
Learn More About Astronomy
If you want to learn more about the exciting subject of astronomy, check out your school’s
library, your local public library, a book store or the Internet. Astronomers are constantly making
new discoveries of the universe. Stay up to date!
Home Planetarium Projector
with Astronomy Software

Andromeda
Galaxy
Alpheratz
CETUS
(The Whale)
Arcturas
Spica
Regulos
Altair
Antares
ERIDANUS
(The River)
LEPUS
(The Hare)
Orion
Nebula
Procyon
Castor
Pollux
GREAT
SQUARE
18 19
Annual Meteor Showers
Shower Hourly Parent comet
40
Lyrids April 22
Quadrantids
15 Comet Thatcher
Asteroid 2003 EH1
Eta Aquarids May 5 20 Comet Halley
(Unknown)
Delta Aquarids July 28 20
Perseids August 12 50 Comet Swift-Tuttle
Orionids October 22 25 Comet Halley
Taurids November 3 15 Comet Encke
Leonids November 17 15 Comet Temple-Tuttle
Geminids December 14
December 23
50 Asteroid 3200 Phaethon
Ursids
January 3
20 Comet Tuttle
Source: Skywatching by David H. Levy (Time-Life Books, 1994-98).
Dates can vary slightly. Hourly rate represents the number of meteors you might see under a
dark sky when the radient is near the zenith. Expect to see perhaps half as many more if the
shower is strong.
Date
Home Planetarium Projector
with Astronomy Software
Planet Position Tables Source: Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles.
2007 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Venus Cap Pis Ari Tau Gem Can Leo Sag Can Leo Vir Lib
Mars Sag Sag Cap Aqr Pis Pis Ari Tau Tau Gem Gem Gem
Jupiter Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Sag
Saturn LeoLeo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo
2008 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Venus Sag Cap Aqr Pis Tau Gem Can Vir Vir Sco Sag Cap
Mars Tau Tau Gem Gem Can Leo Leo Vir Vir Vir Sco Oph
Jupiter Sag Sag Sag Sag Sag Sag Sag Sag Sag Sag Sag Sag
Saturn LeoLeo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo
2009
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Venus Aqr Pis Aqr Pis Pis Ari Tau Gem Leo Vir Lib Oph
Mars Sag Cap Aqr Pis Pis Ari Tau Tau Gem Can Can Leo
Jupiter Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap
Saturn LeoLeo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Vir Vir Vir Vir
2010 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Venus Sag Aqr Pis Ari Tau Can Leo Vir Vir Lib Vir Lib
Mars Can Can Can Can Leo Leo Leo Vir Vir Lib Oph Sag
Jupiter Aqr Aqr Aqr Aqr Pis Pis Pis Pis Pis Pis Aqr Aqr
Saturn VirVir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir
2011 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Venus Oph Sgr Cap Aqr Psc Tau Gem Leo Vir Lib Oph Sgr
Mars Cap Cap Aqr Psc Ari Tau Tau Gem Cnc Cnc Leo Leo
Jupiter Psc Psc Psc Psc Psc Ari Ari Ari Ari Ari Ari Psc
Saturn Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir
2012 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Venus Aqr Psc Ari Tau Tau Tau Tau Gem Cnc Leo Vir Lib
Mars Vir Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Vir Vir Lib Sco Sgr Sgr
Jupiter Ari Ari Ari Ari Tau Tau Tau Tau Tau Tau Tau Tau
Saturn Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir
2013 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Venus Sgr Cap Aqr Ari Tau Gem Leo Vir Vir Oph Sgr Sgr
Mars Cap Aqr Psc Psc Ari Tau Gem Gem Cnc Leo Leo Vir
Jupiter Tau Tau Tau Tau Tau Tau Gem Gem Gem Gem Gem Gem
Saturn Lib Lib Lib Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Lib Lib Lib Lib
2014 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Venus Sgr Sgr Cap Aqr Psc Ari Tau Cnc Leo Vir Lib Sgr
Mars Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Vir Lib Sco Oph Sgr Cap
Jupiter Gem Gem Gem Gem Gem Gem Cnc Cnc Cnc Leo Leo Leo
Saturn Lib Lib Lib Lib Lib Lib Lib Lib Lib Lib Lib Lib
NAME MOONS** RINGS
DISTANCE
FROM SUN
(millions of mi/km)
ORBITAL
PERIOD
(in Earth years)
ROTATION
PERIOD
(hours in day)
SIZE
RELATIVE
TO EARTH
MASS
RELATIVE
TO EARTH
*Dwarf planet
**Known as of July 2006
Planet Information Table
MERCURY 36 / 58 0.2 1416 0.39 X 0.06 X 0 No
VENUS 67 / 108 0.6 5833 0.95 X 0.8 X 0 No
EARTH 93 / 150 1.0 24 1 X 1 X 1 No
MARS 142 / 228 1.9 25 0.53 X 0.1 X 2 No
CERES* 260 / 420 4.6 9 0.08 X 0.0002 X 0 No
JUPITER 484 / 778 11.9 10 11.2 X 318 X 63 Yes
SATURN 884 / 1423 29.5 10 9.4 X 95 X 56 Yes
URANUS 1783 / 2869 84 17 4.0 X 15 X 27 Yes
NEPTUNE 2792 / 4492 164.8 16 3.8 X 17 X 13 Yes
PLUTO* 4650 / 7500 248 153 0.2 X 0.002 X 3 No
ERIS* 9114 / 14,700 557 7 0.2 X 0.003 X 1 No