Observing With Webb

March 2012

March 2012 is a great time to be looking for planets in the sky, since Venus, Mars, and Jupiter are all up after sunset for the whole month, Jupiter and Venus are moving close to and then past each other, Mars is brightest for the year, and the Moon will be tracking close to these planets throughout the month. EVENTS...

7^th - Close Encounter - Moon & Mars - Go out after sunset and find the almost full Moon in the East-.  Mars is about 10˚ (the width of one fist at arm's length) to the left of the Moon.  Look for the reddish object below Leo.  Watch them rise throughout the night and set in the West by dawn.

Full Moon - 8^th (Visible all night - East around sunset, West around Sunrise) - Hopefully it snows so you can really see wonderfully by the light of the Moon - Good for night hikes.

11^th - Close Encounter - Moon & Saturn - Look to the SE around midnight and find the gibbous Moon rising.  Saturn will be the bright object about 6˚ above the Moon.  Spica, Virgo's brightest star, is a little to the right of these two, making a nice triangle.

11^th - Daylight Savings Time Begins

12^th, 13^th - Planetary Close Encounter - Venus and Jupiter - only about 3˚ apart in the West after sunset until 9pm.

Last Quarter Moon - 14^th (Visible from midnight into the morning)

20^th - Spring Equinox - Astronomically the first day of Spring, even though meteorologically Spring starts in the beginning of March.  Here's some more info.

New Moon - 22^nd (darkest skies)

24^th - 27^th - Sunset Moon & Planets - Jupiter, Venus, the Pleiades, and Taurus make a great sight in the West after sunset as the crescent Moon travels through night after night.  Get you camera out for this one!  See the picture below.

25^th - Close Encounter - Moon & Jupiter - Look West after sunset.  The thin crescent Moon will be less than 3˚ to the right of Jupiter.  Brilliant for pictures with zoom lenses. Also note that Venus is just 10˚ above them.

26^th - Close Encounter - Moon & Venus - Look to the West after sunset and you'll see Venus less than 3˚ to the right of the crescent Moon.

First Quarter Moon - 30^th (Visible until midnight)

PLANETS...well, the ones visible with your naked eye Planets you can see around Sunset - Mercury (W), Venus (WSW), Jupiter (WSW), Mars (E) Planets you can see throughout the night - Mars (E-W), Saturn (E-W) Planets you can see in the Morning - Mars (W), Saturn (SW)

Mercury - Only worth looking for until the 10^th of the month, during which time it's 10˚ above the horizon.  Bring binoculars and look west after sunset.

VENUS - Look toward the West after sunset.  From now until May, Venus will be very prominent, then quickly get lower and disappear by the end of May.  If you're looking with your naked eye, it is the brightest object about 30˚ or more (three fist-widths) above the western horizon.  Below the horizon after 9:00pm.  Close to the Moon on the 26^th right after sunset toward the West.  If you're looking through a telescope at dusk, you may see it in its half-lit phase.  It will become more of a crescent in May. Extra Challenge! Take a picture of Venus near the crescent Moon and Pleiades on the 26^th, or when it's super close to Jupiter on the 12^th and 13^th.  Submit it to me and I'll show it off next month right here.

MARS - March is a great time to look at Mars - it's brightest for this year this month and is up all night.  In the East after sunset.  Look for the constellation of Leo and look for the reddish hued point of light right in the middle - use a star chart to help.  Close to the Moon on the 7^th.

JUPITER - About 30˚ above the Western horizon right at sunset and sets around 9pm.  Close to the Moon on the 25^th.  Extra Challenge! Take a picture of Jupiter near the crescent Moon on the 25^th, or when it's super close to Venus on the 12^th and 13^th.  Submit it to me and I'll show it off next month right here.

Saturn - Rising in the SE around 9pm and setting in the west around sunrise.  Saturn will be up to 40˚ above the southern horizon at 2am. Near the Moon on the morning of the 11^th.

CONSTELLATIONS... (see sky map link at the bottom for a Star Map for this month - or ask Mr. Webb)    Look straight up and you'll see...

After Sunset (sunset is around 5:30-6:30pm) - Auriga (Taurus is right nearby), Gemini

Between Sunset and Midnight - Cancer, Gemini, Lynx, and Leo (with Mars) later in the month - Extra Challenge! Find M44 in the Middle of Cancer - an open cluster of stars also known as the Beehive Cluster.  You may be able to see it as a small fuzzy patch with your naked eye if you have very dark skies.  However with a pair of binoculars or a telescope on low power, it will look like a hive of bees in the distance, hence its nickname.

Midnight - Leo, Leo Minor, Ursa Major's legs

Early Morning - Corona Borealis, Hercules, Boötes (you can also find the Big Dipper's handle, and starting from the inside of the handle, follow the arc that those four stars make past the last star in the handle about 30˚ or three fist-widths to the next very bright star you find which is Arcturus, the base of the constellation Boötes.  Hence astronomers use the phrase "Follow the Arc to Arcturus")

GENERAL CONSTELLATION FINDING TIPS:

Winter constellations: Orion is easy to spot as he is high in the south as the Sun sets.  You can use Orion to find many other winter constellations.

Using Orion: Find Orion by looking for the three stars in a row that make up Orion's belt in the South after 7pm.  If you draw a line from the left star to the right star and keep going right about 20 degrees (about 2 fists at arm's length) until you reach another very bright star, you will have reached the star Aldebaron in Taurus (the V).  Follow that line a little more (about another fist) and you'll find the Pleiades.

If you start at his belt again, but instead go the opposite way and draw a line from the right star in Orion's belt to the left star, and keep going left about 20 degrees (2 fists again), you'll come to the brightest star in the sky - Sirius - part of Canis Major.

Above these three constellations are Gemini and Auriga.  The brightest stars in each of these constellations form a circle in the sky.  Going clockwise - Aldebaron (Taurus) - Rigel (Orion - bottom right foot) - Sirius (Canis Major) - Procyon (Canis Minor) - Castor & Pollux (Gemini) - Capella (Auriga).  It makes for great stargazing in the winter sky.

Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out.

Observing with Webb August 2009

This month, the Perseid Meteor Shower takes place, which is usually a pretty good one to watch. Saturn and Mercury dance around each other just after sunset throughout the month while Venus and Mars highlight the morning sky. Read about the events of the month, where the planets are, and what constellations you can see down below. Have a question that you’ve always wondered about? Want to hear about a certain topic on the next podcast and in the next email? Send me a question either by replying to this email or sending me a message on podbean and I will include it next month. EVENTS... 7^th – Penumbral lunar eclipse – However, it is a penumbral eclipse (the outside, dimmer portion of the earth’s shadow) and hence it is pretty much undetectable by the naked eye Full Moon – 5^th (Green Corn Moon, Grain Moon) 11^th/12^th – Perseid Meteor Shower peaks. That's right! Want to romance your significant other? Bring 'em out for a night of wishing upon shooting stars. This is one of the very best meteor showers of the year, bragging 50-100 swift, bright meteors per hour during its peak. More information here Some advice for watching: Find a dark location Lie down in a reclining chair or swimming pool floaty Look toward Perseus (In the NNE around 9pm, rises throughout the night until sunrise where it will be almost directly above.) That is where the radiant is - where the meteors will appear to be coming from The strategy to observe this one is to start watching in the evening of the 11^th and continue into the morning of the 12^th. The shower is usually active from mid July to late August, so you may see some Perseids in the days leading up to the peak as well. Dress in multiple layers and bring hot chocolate Check the weather to see if the skies will be clear (weather.com has a good map here Adapt your eyes to the dark by staying away from light sources or using a red light if you need to look at a star chart or not trip over something. The moon will be a little more than halfway lit, so try not to look at that as it will also interfere with your night vision. New Moon – 20^th (darkest skies) PLANETS...well, the ones visible with your naked eye Any conjunctions? Each day in the morning (in the east), Mars will slowly march away from Venus throughout August. The Moon joins them from the 16^th-17^th, making great opportunities for pictures. Around sunset this month (in the west), Mercury gets closer to Saturn until they are 3° degrees apart on the 17^th, then Mercury moves away for the rest of the month. The Moon joins this party on the 21^st and 22^nd. The Moon also gets close to Jupiter on the 6^th. Mercury – Getting further from the sun as it sets throughout the month. Between 20° and 25° to the left of the sun. Check after sunset in the WNW just above the horizon. If you know Leo, Mercury will be about ½° NNE of Regulus (Leo’s brightest star) on the 2^nd of the month. VENUS – Visible in the AM in the east around 30° above the horizon around sunrise. Lower than 30° before sunrise. Travels through Gemini throughout the month. Remember…it’s VERY bright. Mars – Hanging out up and to the right of Venus for this month, too. Look to the east in the morning before sunrise (Mars rises between 2am and 1am), find Venus, then find the reddish “star” up and to the right about 15° to 30° away.  It is in Taurus in the beginning in the month. JUPITER – Rises between 9pm and sunset and is visible almost all night low on the horizon in the south and southeast until sunrise.  Extra Challenge! If you have a telescope, see if you can find the new black spot on Jupiter. This site has details for seeing it in July, maybe it’ll be updated for August. Saturn – Visible low on the horizon (about 20° up) in the west just after sunset in the beginning of the month and will get increasingly close to the horizon at sunset each until the end of the month when it is only 5° above the horizon at sunset. It sets quickly! After that, say goodbye to Saturn until October after it passes by the sun and enters the morning sky. CONSTELLATIONS... (see sky map link at the bottom for a Star Map for this month – or ask Mr. Webb) Look straight up and you'll see... Sunset (around 8:15pm) – Hercules – Extra Challenge! Use binoculars and a star chart and try to find the faint fuzzy that is the Hercules cluster of stars. Midnight – Cygnus, Lyra, Aquila (a little to the south) – The Summer Triangle (see general constellation finding tips below) Early Morning – Perseus, Aries GENERAL CONSTELLATION FINDING TIPS: Look straight up after 11pm and you’ll be able to see Lyra, Cygnus, Aquila, (and Delphinus.)  These three constellations have the three brightest stars of the summer constellations (Vega, Deneb, Altair – respectively.)  Those bright stars create the summer triangle, which will be seen earlier and earlier as the summer goes by.  If you’re under dark skies (away from city lights) you may just catch a glimpse of the Milky Way passing through Cygnus and Aquila. Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out. A lot of credit for this information goes to: SkyMaps.com – Download the monthly sky map /www.skymaps.com/downloads.html" href="http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html">here in many formats including Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, and Equatorial Sky & Telescope Magazine ...and various sky programs such as Starry Night.