The Moon will be New on the 5th, and the First Quarter will be on the 12th, rising just after mid-day and setting at 2.30 am. It’ll be full on the 20th, rising at 10.30pm and setting at 3.15am. The last quarter will be on the 28th when it’ll rise at 2am and set at 1pm. From the first to the 9th-ish, it’ll be out of the way for most of the night and not easily studied. Good! say the DSO folk. From then to the 25th-ish it’s available every night and should enable Lunarphiles see almost the whole of it as the Terminator passes over it. The rest of the month favours the DSO observers a bit more.
Planets. Mars sets at 2.30am on the 1st, and earlier each night till the end of the month when it’ll set by 1am, so make the most of it, though it’ll be in the murky low part of the sky soon after dark, and will soon be gone.
Saturn will be due south on the 1st at 9pm, still high up, and will set by 3.30am and, on the 31st, it’ll set by 1.30am, giving you just 4 hours each night and most of them quite low and near setting. It will however be at its widest ring set for a couple of years, so again, make the most of it.
Jupiter is a morning planet, rising on the 1st at about 2.30am. By the end of the month it’ll be getting up soon after midnight, and at 45arcsec and –2.6mag, it’s the brightest thing in the night sky, other than the Moon. But, it’ll not get more than 15° above the horizon, so disc detail will be difficult, though the Galilean moons will be easy enough with big binoculars.
Venus isn’t worth getting your eyes damaged for, as it’ll be on the far side of the Sun, and by line of sight within 10° of it on the 1st and within 2° on the 31st, so give it a miss this month.
Uranus and Neptune are morning planets too and get up after Jupiter but before Venus so are worth a try, though the morning twilight won’t help. On the 1st, you should see them either side of the thin crescent Moon from 4.30am. On the 2nd the Moon will be 5° to the left of Uranus at the same time. On the 27th you’ll find the almost half Moon just 1/3° from Neptune at 4am and on the 29th it’ll be within 3° of Uranus at the same time. On the 24th it’ll be within 6° of Jupiter in the morning twilight.
Mercury, however will be an evening object and goes down before Mars and Saturn, but should be visible on the 1st an hour after the Sun sets, just north of west from 8.30pm. It’ll be 14° from the Sun on the 1st and by the 14th will be 21° away when it’s as far from the Sun as it can get from our position. After this it’ll close the gap over the following weeks to the point of “too close for observing” by the 27th when it’ll be back to the 14° we started with, so don’t miss this opportunity to see the little planet. Be safe in observing but as it swings round the Sun it’ll be lit only on the Sunward side so will show a phase, 73% on the 1st, 52% on the 8th a week later, 33% on the 15th , a week later, 18% the following Thursday, and 6% on the 29th but that’s too close to observe so don’t try it. If we could turn the Sun’s light off on that date we’d see Mercury 12° above the Sun and Venus 3° below it. The Moon joins in with an appearance in thin crescent form beside Mercury on the 6th. From all this you'll see that this is Mercury's month.
Meteors. The only shower of note this month is the Eta Aquarids, peaking on the 6th but with a spread of several nights. A good shower, up to 60 ZHR, but the radiant rises early in the morning so you'll have to stay up for it or go to Australia.
What else? During May we have the scene changes from winter to summer, in the west we have Orion setting with his entourage, Gemini, Auriga and Taurus, in the south we have Leo and his fields of galaxies in Coma and Virgo, and in the east, Hercules bringing up the Summer Triangle, Lyra, Cygnus, Vulpecula and Aquila. Just coming into the picture is the centre of the galaxy with all the extended nebulosity for which large cameras may be needed.
What's on in April 08
The Moon starts the month with a thick waning crescent. It will be New on the 6th, and at first quarter on the 12th rising at 10.15am and setting at 3.30am. Full Moon will be on the 20th rising at 9pm and setting at 5.20am. Last quarter is on the 28th rising at 3am and setting at 11am. So, the best nights for Lunarphiles are from about the 11th to the 27th, leaving the Deep Sky folk with the first 10 nights and the last 3, when the Moon won’t be glowering down on us. The daylight time continues to lengthen as spring progresses into summer without a thought for the astronomers, particularly as BST starts this Sunday.
Planets. Saturn continues to rule the roost at 0.3mag, and though small at 19 arc”, is a fine sight as it will be very high up in the sky throughout the month at the same size and brightness. The rings will be a bit wider this month but not enough to make a difference as they continue towards 2009 when they’ll become edge on and invisible to us.
Mars continues to shrink in brightness, from 0.8mag to 1.2mag by the end of the month and from 0.7arc” to 0.6 in size, and it’ll move from the middle of the Twins (Gemini), to the left of them, through the month, finally making an almost straight line with Castor and Pollux. Though high in the sky, it’s too small for much detail to be seen with our telescopes.
Venus will move from 17 to about 10° from the Sun so will be a bit too close to observe, though dawn, just before the Sun gets up, will be the best time to try, very bright at 3.9mag.
Mercury, as ever is close to the Sun, and particularly so on the 16th when it’ll be coming round the far side of it and within half a degree as seen from Earth. However, from the 22nd to the end of the month, it’ll be much easier at dusk, as it will set 30 mins after the Sun on the 22nd (-1.6mag) to an hour and a half after it on the 30th, though a bit dimmer at –0.9mag. Dimmer because it’s coming from behind the Sun towards us, and being lit on one side. By the 30th only 76% of its disc will be lit. It will be about the same size as Mars in the sky. See if you can make out its gibbous shape in a telescope. Next month is even better for observing Mercury.
Jupiter, though bigger than the others in the sky, is going to be a very poor object to observe as it’ll only be available from about 4am on the first and 2.30am on the 30th, till the Sun rises an hour or so later. And it’ll not get more than 15° above the horizon all month. The Galilean moons should still be visible though.
Uranus and Neptune will rise before the Sun so dawn is their time too. They’ll be following Jupiter up into the sky, so will be closer to the Sun and more difficult to see, particularly in the first half of the month. Towards the end they leave the Sun behind and rise earlier so should be seen with binoculars in the pre-dawn sky, 6mag for Uranus and 8 for Neptune, you’ll need a clear horizon of course.
On the 8th the Moon escorts the Pleiades down into the western horizon, about the width of 3 fingers away from each other, following them is Ceres, another 6° behind, but at Mag 9, it’ll be difficult with binoculars, but not with a telescope. On the 13th it’ll eclipse the Beehive Cluster M44, then on the 15th, it’ll be quite close to Saturn and Regulus, making for a pretty picture at dusk, and at dawn on the 27th it gets to within 4° of Jupiter.
Meteor showers. This month we have the Lyrids, peaking on the 22nd, but with a spread of only two weeks suggesting it’s young and strong, but it has a Zenith Hourly Rate of 15. Lyra is coming up this month later at night in the east north east.
This month continues the parade of the galaxies, led by Leo, with Virgo, Coma and Ursa Major following. You’ll also see the spring constellations rising in the east, Hercules, Lyra, Ophiuchus, Serpens bringing up all the nebulae, planetaries and globular clusters near the middle of the Milky Way. The centre our galaxy is full of goodies, but it doesn’t get high enough to be worth pursuing on a regular basis except as and when the seeing and Cloud God permit in mid summer.
Regards, Brian
Planets. Saturn continues to rule the roost at 0.3mag, and though small at 19 arc”, is a fine sight as it will be very high up in the sky throughout the month at the same size and brightness. The rings will be a bit wider this month but not enough to make a difference as they continue towards 2009 when they’ll become edge on and invisible to us.
Mars continues to shrink in brightness, from 0.8mag to 1.2mag by the end of the month and from 0.7arc” to 0.6 in size, and it’ll move from the middle of the Twins (Gemini), to the left of them, through the month, finally making an almost straight line with Castor and Pollux. Though high in the sky, it’s too small for much detail to be seen with our telescopes.
Venus will move from 17 to about 10° from the Sun so will be a bit too close to observe, though dawn, just before the Sun gets up, will be the best time to try, very bright at 3.9mag.
Mercury, as ever is close to the Sun, and particularly so on the 16th when it’ll be coming round the far side of it and within half a degree as seen from Earth. However, from the 22nd to the end of the month, it’ll be much easier at dusk, as it will set 30 mins after the Sun on the 22nd (-1.6mag) to an hour and a half after it on the 30th, though a bit dimmer at –0.9mag. Dimmer because it’s coming from behind the Sun towards us, and being lit on one side. By the 30th only 76% of its disc will be lit. It will be about the same size as Mars in the sky. See if you can make out its gibbous shape in a telescope. Next month is even better for observing Mercury.
Jupiter, though bigger than the others in the sky, is going to be a very poor object to observe as it’ll only be available from about 4am on the first and 2.30am on the 30th, till the Sun rises an hour or so later. And it’ll not get more than 15° above the horizon all month. The Galilean moons should still be visible though.
Uranus and Neptune will rise before the Sun so dawn is their time too. They’ll be following Jupiter up into the sky, so will be closer to the Sun and more difficult to see, particularly in the first half of the month. Towards the end they leave the Sun behind and rise earlier so should be seen with binoculars in the pre-dawn sky, 6mag for Uranus and 8 for Neptune, you’ll need a clear horizon of course.
On the 8th the Moon escorts the Pleiades down into the western horizon, about the width of 3 fingers away from each other, following them is Ceres, another 6° behind, but at Mag 9, it’ll be difficult with binoculars, but not with a telescope. On the 13th it’ll eclipse the Beehive Cluster M44, then on the 15th, it’ll be quite close to Saturn and Regulus, making for a pretty picture at dusk, and at dawn on the 27th it gets to within 4° of Jupiter.
Meteor showers. This month we have the Lyrids, peaking on the 22nd, but with a spread of only two weeks suggesting it’s young and strong, but it has a Zenith Hourly Rate of 15. Lyra is coming up this month later at night in the east north east.
This month continues the parade of the galaxies, led by Leo, with Virgo, Coma and Ursa Major following. You’ll also see the spring constellations rising in the east, Hercules, Lyra, Ophiuchus, Serpens bringing up all the nebulae, planetaries and globular clusters near the middle of the Milky Way. The centre our galaxy is full of goodies, but it doesn’t get high enough to be worth pursuing on a regular basis except as and when the seeing and Cloud God permit in mid summer.
Regards, Brian
What's on in March 08
The Moon will be best seen during the middle of March, particularly from the 9th to the 17th, during which time you will be able to see the terminator pass right across the face at good observing times. This leaves the first few nights and the later half of the month to the deep sky observers.
It’ll be New on the 7th, and the first quarter will be on the 14th, rising at 9am and setting at 3am the next day. It will also get within a degree of Mars as it sets that morning. It’ll be Full on the 21st, rising at 6.30pm and setting at 6.45am. Last quarter will be on the 29th, when it’ll rise at 2.40am and set at 8.50am. You will of course have noted that the nights are getting shorter, and before you know it someone will declare it summer by putting the clocks forward. The rule is, from the last Sunday in March, the 30th this year, to the last Sunday in October, the 26th, the clocks are moved forward one hour for British Summer Time.
Planets. Mars is in the sky and easily seen all night all month, but is shrinking so that by the end of the month it’ll be 7 arcsec and mag 0.8, and be almost too small to show any detail on the disc.
Saturn will be there all night too and high enough for good observing. The Cassini division will be more difficult as the rings are closing, but the moons will be easier to find, being more in line east to west. The disc will also be more readily seen and you should see some banding, more subtle than on Jupiter, but clear to see. A still, hazy night is best for planets rather than a crisp clear one, as it steadies the seeing and stops the planet bouncing around, making detail easier to see.
Venus isn’t to be seen this month, nor are Mercury, Uranus and Neptune, all clustered near and just ahead of the Sun, making it unsafe to seek them. Jupiter will be leading the pack by a reasonable amount so will be more easily seen at dawn later in the month, but very low and less than an hour before the sky lightens to hide it. A good Celestron goto should find it in daylight though.
Meteor showers. None of note this month.
Orion is still the best sight soon after it gets dark, together with the clusters in Monoceros, but not for much longer, as the spring constellations continue their rise, led by Leo, a degree higher every night, to take up prime position centre stage, bringing with them the galaxies that make up so many of those pseudo-comets that M. Messier warned other comet seekers to avoid. March is the traditional month for Messier Marathons, an attempt to see all the Messier objects in one night. It can be done and is done frequently and more easily from more southerly latitudes than ours.
Regards, Brian
It’ll be New on the 7th, and the first quarter will be on the 14th, rising at 9am and setting at 3am the next day. It will also get within a degree of Mars as it sets that morning. It’ll be Full on the 21st, rising at 6.30pm and setting at 6.45am. Last quarter will be on the 29th, when it’ll rise at 2.40am and set at 8.50am. You will of course have noted that the nights are getting shorter, and before you know it someone will declare it summer by putting the clocks forward. The rule is, from the last Sunday in March, the 30th this year, to the last Sunday in October, the 26th, the clocks are moved forward one hour for British Summer Time.
Planets. Mars is in the sky and easily seen all night all month, but is shrinking so that by the end of the month it’ll be 7 arcsec and mag 0.8, and be almost too small to show any detail on the disc.
Saturn will be there all night too and high enough for good observing. The Cassini division will be more difficult as the rings are closing, but the moons will be easier to find, being more in line east to west. The disc will also be more readily seen and you should see some banding, more subtle than on Jupiter, but clear to see. A still, hazy night is best for planets rather than a crisp clear one, as it steadies the seeing and stops the planet bouncing around, making detail easier to see.
Venus isn’t to be seen this month, nor are Mercury, Uranus and Neptune, all clustered near and just ahead of the Sun, making it unsafe to seek them. Jupiter will be leading the pack by a reasonable amount so will be more easily seen at dawn later in the month, but very low and less than an hour before the sky lightens to hide it. A good Celestron goto should find it in daylight though.
Meteor showers. None of note this month.
Orion is still the best sight soon after it gets dark, together with the clusters in Monoceros, but not for much longer, as the spring constellations continue their rise, led by Leo, a degree higher every night, to take up prime position centre stage, bringing with them the galaxies that make up so many of those pseudo-comets that M. Messier warned other comet seekers to avoid. March is the traditional month for Messier Marathons, an attempt to see all the Messier objects in one night. It can be done and is done frequently and more easily from more southerly latitudes than ours.
Regards, Brian
What's on in February 08
The Moon is best observed towards the latter half of the month when it’ll be in the sky for much of the night, the first half is the preserve of the photographers when the Moon won’t be in the way.
It will be New on the 7th rising at 8am and setting at 5.30pm. Look for the thinnest sliver on a couple of nights either side of the 7th, difficult, as it’ll be in daylight. First quarter comes on the 14th when it’ll rise at 9.30am and set at 2.15am next morning. Full Moon is on the 21st rising at 6pm and setting at 7.15am. Last quarter is on the 29th rising at 3am and setting at 9.15am next day.
But there’s more. On the night of the 21st, the Earth’s shadow will start to creep over the Full Moon in a Total Lunar Eclipse. It’ll start at 12.45am when the penumbra starts to cover the Moon, but won’t be visually noticeable till the Umbra gets there at about 2am. From then it’ll become darker progressively till full eclipse at 2.55am. Then a period of continued cover till 4am, when it’ll start to ease away allowing the Sun’s light to fall onto the face of the Moon again starting from the other side of the disc, till 5am, when it’ll visually have finished. But this is just the Umbra clearing from the disc. The eclipse will continue till 6am when it’ll be done completely, with the clearing of the Penumbra. What colour to expect of the disc? Heaven knows, but judging from last time we saw one at Austerfield, it’ll be a dusky red. I’m sure Dave A will be able to give you the RGB details from the pictures he took on that occasion. The only difference I can think of is that it was dusk then and will be full night ending at dawn this time. You tell me what colour you see it as.
Planets. Mars is still up at the top of the sky, big and bright, but past its best and in recession, shrinking to 9as (arcsec) and mag 0.2 by the end of February (In mid December it was 16as and –1.6mag.). Arcsec? What’s that? If you stretch you arm out, with fist clenched, the width of the fist subtends an arc of about 10° on the sky, so an arcsec is 1/(10° x 60mins x 60secs) or 1/36000 of your fist, making Mars about 1/3600 of your fist. Detail is becoming difficult to make out, but keep trying as it’s all dependant on the sky’s condition, and the Cloud God’s favour of course.
Saturn is coming up fast, getting well up in the sky, much slimmer than last year but still good to look at. See how many of its moon you can see, 3? 6? 7? Name them by checking date and time in almost any planetarium software.
At dawn on the 1st there will be a close encounter between Jupiter and Venus, they get to within half a degree of each other and the Moon isn’t far away either. But on the 4th, Jupiter and Venus will be 4° apart and the Moon will be just 5° away. And Pluto will be 12° further west if we could see it. Most of the planetary activity this month is at dawn just before the Sun comes up, and only just, so won’t be easy. Jupiter and Venus will be there all month, bright enough to be unmistakable, just a few degrees above the horizon, but Neptune and Mercury are there too, much more difficult because of the Sun and their low brightness. In fact, on the 27th, Venus and Mercury will be within 1° of each other with Neptune a further 10 eastwards, just 30 mins before the Sun shows, but the twilight may hide Mercury, and you’ll have to be wary with binoculars looking for Neptune. Other than Mars and Saturn, well up in the sky, the only planet in the evening will be Uranus and that will be very low, 15° above the western horizon on the first and getting lower daily, till by monthend it’ll be almost out of contention. Farewell, Uranus.
Meteors. None of note other than those from Sporadia.
This is the start of the galaxy season, led up into the sky by Leo and Ursa Major. They aren’t big and bright things to look at like the Orion Nebula, which will still be there due south by 9pm and centre stage, but much smaller and dependant more heavily on seeing conditions for a good appearance. However, there are “millions” of them, singly and in groups, in Leo, Ursa Major, Virgo, Coma Berenices and Canes Venatici. In Leo look for the M65 and M66 grouping and the M105, M95 and M96 grouping, very close to Saturn. Following Coma Berenices is Bootes, lit up by bright Arcturus, located in a curved line tailing from the handle of the Plough, and behind that is Hercules and its Great Globular Cluster M13. Of course M53 and M3, also globulars, are ahead of Arcturus so will be available earlier.
Regards, Brian
It will be New on the 7th rising at 8am and setting at 5.30pm. Look for the thinnest sliver on a couple of nights either side of the 7th, difficult, as it’ll be in daylight. First quarter comes on the 14th when it’ll rise at 9.30am and set at 2.15am next morning. Full Moon is on the 21st rising at 6pm and setting at 7.15am. Last quarter is on the 29th rising at 3am and setting at 9.15am next day.
But there’s more. On the night of the 21st, the Earth’s shadow will start to creep over the Full Moon in a Total Lunar Eclipse. It’ll start at 12.45am when the penumbra starts to cover the Moon, but won’t be visually noticeable till the Umbra gets there at about 2am. From then it’ll become darker progressively till full eclipse at 2.55am. Then a period of continued cover till 4am, when it’ll start to ease away allowing the Sun’s light to fall onto the face of the Moon again starting from the other side of the disc, till 5am, when it’ll visually have finished. But this is just the Umbra clearing from the disc. The eclipse will continue till 6am when it’ll be done completely, with the clearing of the Penumbra. What colour to expect of the disc? Heaven knows, but judging from last time we saw one at Austerfield, it’ll be a dusky red. I’m sure Dave A will be able to give you the RGB details from the pictures he took on that occasion. The only difference I can think of is that it was dusk then and will be full night ending at dawn this time. You tell me what colour you see it as.
Planets. Mars is still up at the top of the sky, big and bright, but past its best and in recession, shrinking to 9as (arcsec) and mag 0.2 by the end of February (In mid December it was 16as and –1.6mag.). Arcsec? What’s that? If you stretch you arm out, with fist clenched, the width of the fist subtends an arc of about 10° on the sky, so an arcsec is 1/(10° x 60mins x 60secs) or 1/36000 of your fist, making Mars about 1/3600 of your fist. Detail is becoming difficult to make out, but keep trying as it’s all dependant on the sky’s condition, and the Cloud God’s favour of course.
Saturn is coming up fast, getting well up in the sky, much slimmer than last year but still good to look at. See how many of its moon you can see, 3? 6? 7? Name them by checking date and time in almost any planetarium software.
At dawn on the 1st there will be a close encounter between Jupiter and Venus, they get to within half a degree of each other and the Moon isn’t far away either. But on the 4th, Jupiter and Venus will be 4° apart and the Moon will be just 5° away. And Pluto will be 12° further west if we could see it. Most of the planetary activity this month is at dawn just before the Sun comes up, and only just, so won’t be easy. Jupiter and Venus will be there all month, bright enough to be unmistakable, just a few degrees above the horizon, but Neptune and Mercury are there too, much more difficult because of the Sun and their low brightness. In fact, on the 27th, Venus and Mercury will be within 1° of each other with Neptune a further 10 eastwards, just 30 mins before the Sun shows, but the twilight may hide Mercury, and you’ll have to be wary with binoculars looking for Neptune. Other than Mars and Saturn, well up in the sky, the only planet in the evening will be Uranus and that will be very low, 15° above the western horizon on the first and getting lower daily, till by monthend it’ll be almost out of contention. Farewell, Uranus.
Meteors. None of note other than those from Sporadia.
This is the start of the galaxy season, led up into the sky by Leo and Ursa Major. They aren’t big and bright things to look at like the Orion Nebula, which will still be there due south by 9pm and centre stage, but much smaller and dependant more heavily on seeing conditions for a good appearance. However, there are “millions” of them, singly and in groups, in Leo, Ursa Major, Virgo, Coma Berenices and Canes Venatici. In Leo look for the M65 and M66 grouping and the M105, M95 and M96 grouping, very close to Saturn. Following Coma Berenices is Bootes, lit up by bright Arcturus, located in a curved line tailing from the handle of the Plough, and behind that is Hercules and its Great Globular Cluster M13. Of course M53 and M3, also globulars, are ahead of Arcturus so will be available earlier.
Regards, Brian
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