Author: Lemmings

Despite all the rain, spring must be on the way!  If we manage some clear skies, then this is a good time of year for observing. 

Planets:

Mercury:

Mercury passes through inferior conjunction on 7^th March and becomes a morning object.  However, it will remain low in the sky and will be a very difficult object this month.

Venus:

Venus is now an evening object, but is still rather close to the Sun and may be difficult to pick up before the end of the month. The disc diameter is only about 10 arcsec.

Mars:

Mars reached conjunction in January and is still not observable this month, or for quite a few months yet.

Jupiter:

Jupiter is past opposition now, but is still well placed  for observation in the early to late evening.  It is a very prominent object in Gemini, just below the twin stars of Castor and Pollux. It is very well placed for observing and gets very high in the sky, meaning it avoids a lot of the atmospheric turbulence lower down. I recommend the website https://shallowsky.com/jupiter which shows you the position of the Galilean moons and the Great Red Spot at any time you pick. 

Saturn:

Saturn reaches conjunction with the Sun on 25^th March and is therefore not observable this month.

Uranus:

Uranus remains visible throughout this month.  It lies in Taurus, a little below the Pleiades.  Its coordinates: RA 03h 44m , Dec +19.7^o, and magnitude +5.7.

Neptune:

Neptune is not observable this month as it is too close to the Sun

Moon Phases:

3rd March:  Full Moon	11th March:   Last Quarter
19th March:  New Moon	25th March:   First Quarter

Occultations:

On the 29^th March, the Moon occults the star Regulus in Leo. It disappears behind the dark limb at 18:14 UT and reappears at the bright limb at 19:21 UT.  The Moon phase is 89%.

There is a total lunar eclipse on 3^rd March, but it will not be visible in the UK sadly.

 Sun:

The Sun is much higher in the sky now and is still fairly active as it is still near solar maximum, so do watch out for large Sunspot groups.  Remember to never look at the Sun directly without a proper solar filter.

The Equinox occurs on 20^th March

Aurora:

Aurora may be visible this month as the northern skies are dark early.  Watch out for any exceptional activity though, using one of the many aurora alert apps.

 Meteors:

There are no notable meteor showers this month.

Deep Sky Objects:

The Orion Nebula is still well placed, as well as the Pleiades. To the east of Gemini (where Jupiter is) lies the sickle of Leo.  Between these is Cancer.  Look for the beautiful open cluster Praesepe M44, which is a lovely open cluster and a good target for astrophotography.  The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) is becoming well placed, below Ursa Major, as well as the Pinwheel galaxy (M101) just above the handle of the Plough.

The Andromeda galaxy (M31) remains fairly well placed, being almost overhead by mid evening.  This also applies to the Double Cluster in Perseus.  Both make great objects in binoculars or a small telescope and fantastic objects for astrophotography.

Neil Havard.

Any questions or for more information, contact Neil at coordassist@cotswoldas.org.uk

Winter continues and the nights are long and dark.  If we manage some clear skies, then this is a good time of year for observing. 

Planets

Mercury

Mercury becomes an evening object, reaching greatest eastern elongation on the 19^th of the month, reaching 18^o east of the Sun.  It should be a good target to look for this month.

Venus

Venus becomes an evening object, but is still rather too close to the Sun to be easily observable this month.

Mars

Mars reached conjunction in January and is not observable this month, or for quite a few months yet.

Jupiter

Jupiter is just past opposition and is therefore observable throughout the night.  It is a very prominent object in Gemini, just below the twin stars of Castor and Pollux. It is very well placed for observing and gets very high in the sky, meaning it avoids a lot of the atmospheric turbulence lower down. I recommend the website https://shallowsky.com/jupiter which shows you the position of the Galilean moons and the Great Red Spot at any time you pick. 

Saturn

Saturn is becoming much harder to observe as it sinks into the west.  It sets by 8pm by the middle of the month.  The rings are still nearly edge on, but will just be visible if you get a chance to view them before Saturn is lost in the twilight.

Uranus

Uranus remains visible throughout this month.  It lies in Taurus, a little below the Pleiades.  Its coordinates: RA 03h 43m , Dec +19.5^o, and magnitude +5.7.

Neptune

Neptune is becoming harder to observe, as it is close to Saturn, being a little above it.  It sets by mid evening.

Moon Phases:

1st Feb:  Full Moon	9th Feb:   Last Quarter
17th Feb:  New Moon	24th Feb:   First Quarter

 Sun

The Sun remains low in the sky at this time of year, but still fairly active as it is still near solar maximum, so do watch out for large Sunspot groups.  Remember to never look at the Sun directly without a proper solar filter.

Aurora

Aurora may be visible this month as the northern skies are dark early.  Watch out for any exceptional activity though, using one of the many aurora alert apps.

 Meteors

There are no notable meteor showers this month.

Deep Sky Objects

The Orion Nebula is well placed, as well as the Pleiades. To the east of Gemini (where Jupiter is) lies the sickle of Leo.  Between these is Cancer.  Look for the beautiful open cluster Praesepe M44, which is a lovely open cluster and a good target for astrophotography. I captured this inadvertently while photographing the aurora in northern Finland in December.

The Andromeda galaxy (M31) remains well placed, being almost overhead by mid evening.  This also applies to the Double Cluster in Perseus.  Both make great objects in binoculars or a small telescope and fantastic objects for astrophotography.

Neil Havard.

Any questions or for more information, contact Neil at coordassist@cotswoldas.org.uk

To download this post as a PDF click HERE

 

 

Winter is well and truly upon us and the nights are long and dark.  If we manage some clear skies, then this is a good time of year for observing.

There are some interesting this to look out for this month

Planets

Mercury

Mercury reaches superior conjunction on 21^st January.  It remains close to the Sun and is not really observable this month.

Venus

Venus reaches superior conjunction on the 6^th January and is not observable this month

Mars

Mars finally reaches conjunction on the 9^th January and is not observable this month, or for quite a few months yet.

Jupiter

Jupiter reaches opposition on the 10^th January and is therefore observable throughout the night.  It is a very prominent object in Gemini, just below the twin stars of Castor and Pollux. It is very well placed for observing and gets very high in the sky, meaning it avoids a lot of the atmospheric turbulence lower down. I recommend the website https://shallowsky.com/jupiter which shows you the position of the Galilean moons and the Great Red Spot at any time you pick.  A few transits are as follows:

On the 6^th, at 01.56UT, Io will transit Jupiter.  As Jupiter is close to opposition, the Moon and its shadow will appear close together.  It does this again on the 7^th at 02:20UT. Ganymede transits on the 7^th at 02:06UT and the shadow and moon are touching.  If you’re up and it’s clear, this could be worth looking for.  On the 10^th at 07:11UT (opposition day) Calisto starts to transit in front of its shadow.

Saturn

Saturn is past its best now and will soon be moving into the twilight.  Its magnitude is at +1 throughout the month, but the rings remain very nearly edge on throughout the month.  Although still fairly low in the sky, it can be found in Aquarius, below the square of Pegasus. By mid-month, its coordinates are: RA 23h 49m, Dec -3^o 34’.  Note: As it’s a planet, it won’t twinkle like a star, making it easier to identify.  You can use https://shallowsky.com to access the moons of Saturn as well.

Uranus

Uranus remains visible throughout this month.  It lies in Taurus, a little below the Pleiades.  Its coordinates: RA 03h 43m, Dec +19.5^o, and magnitude +5.7.

Neptune

Neptune is still observable, as it is close to Saturn, being a little above it.  It is not an easy object, but it can be found with coordinates:  RA 0h 00m 21s, Dec -1^o 25’.  It is also below the square of Pegasus and has a magnitude of +7.9.  By the end of the month it will become a more difficult object.

Moon Phases: 

3rd Jan:  Full Moon	10th Jan:   Last Quarter
18th Jan:  New Moon	26th Jan:   First Quarter

The Lunar X and Lunar V shapes may be seen around 17.00UT on the 25^th January.  These shapes appear on the terminator, due to light catching crater rims, and are worth looking for.  The X is south of the equator and the V to the north.

Occultations: On the evening of the 27^th January from about 21:30UT, the gibbous Moon passes through the northern part of the Pleiades, occulting several stars.  This could be a job for video.

Sun

The Sun is very low in the sky at this time of year, but still fairly active as it is still near solar maximum, so do watch out for large Sunspot groups.  Remember to never look at the Sun directly without a proper solar filter.

Earth reaches perihelion around the 4^th January and so is at its closest to the Sun.  It won’t feel particularly warm though!

Aurora

Aurora may be visible this month as the northern skies are dark early.  Watch out for any exceptional activity though, using one of the many aurora alert apps.

 Meteors

The Quadrantid meteor shower occurs around the 3^rd January. The Zenithal Hourly Rate (ZHR) at maximum may reach 80, but this year’s display will be rather spoiled by the full Moon. They are one of the richest showers of the year and well worth looking out for.  There are many slow and bright meteors to be seen. As we will be approaching new Moon, these could be very favourable.

Deep Sky Objects

The Orion Nebula is well placed, as well as the Pleiades. To the east of Gemini (where Jupiter is) lies the sickle of Leo.  Between these is Cancer.  Look for the beautiful open cluster Praesepe M44, which is a lovely open cluster and a good target for astrophotography.

The Andromeda galaxy (M31) is very well placed, being almost overhead by mid evening.  This also applies to the Double Cluster in Perseus.  Both make great objects in binoculars or a small telescope and fantastic objects for astrophotography.

Neil Havard.

Any questions or for more information, contact Neil at coordassist@cotswoldas.org.uk

To download this post as a PDF click HERE