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Wednesday, February 24, 2021

 

Seeing Vesta at Opposition (March 2021)

The North-east horizon as seen from Adelaide at 23:00 ACDST (10:00 pm non-daylight saving time) showing the location of Vesta (click to embiggen) on Thursday, March 4, when Vesta is at opposition at its brightest.Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time.The approximate binocular view of Vesta and the three prominent guide stars at 23:00 ACDST (10:00 pm non-daylight saving time) on Thursday, March 4.  (click to embiggen, similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time).
Black and white horizon chart facing east suitable for printing showing location of 4 Vesta as seen from Adelaide at 23:00 ACDST. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. Use the charts above to orient yourself get to the guide stars.Black and white binocular chart suitable for printing showing the movement of 4 Vesta over the next 30 days. The large circle represents the field of view of 10x50 binoculars. Click to embiggen and print.  Use the horizon chart to the left for orientation first.

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The Asteroid 4 Vesta is one of the iconic minor planets, and one of two orbited by the Dawn spacecraft. At favorable oppositions Vesta is bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye under dark sky conditions. This year it gets to magnitude 5.8 (although the chart says 6.0) just over unaided eye visibility at dark sky sites. Not really visible from suburban skies, but it will be easily visible in binoculars and small telescopes.

This year is a reasonable opposition of Vesta on March 4, when it will reach a magnitude of 5.8  at its brightest with good guide stars. The next bright opposition is 22 August in 2022 (also magnitude 5.8) but there will be fewer good guide stars. And in May 2025 it will reach magnitude 5.6 with good guide stars.

This year Vesta has some excellent signposts to it, just before and just after opposition Vesta is in the tail of Leo the lion between the easily recognizable Denebola (ß Leonis, the second brightest star in Leo) And Chertan (Θ Leonis) which form the triangle marking the Lions tail with Denebola and Zosma. 
 
In binoculars if you star hop about two binocular widths from Denebola to Chertan (the next brightest star) Vesta is between Chertan and the two next brightest stars 81 and 85 Leo (see binocular charts). Vesta is the brightest object aside from Chertan, 81 and 85 Leo and its movement from night to night easily seen.
 
Finding Vesta with the charts should be easy. Print them out and use with a red-light torch (or a standard torch with red cellophane over it) so as to not disturb your night vision.

Sadly just before opposition itself, the waxing Moon / full Moon will interfere significantly (although you should still be able to just see it in binoculars. However,  at opposition and several days after opposition Vesta is still bright and easily seen. 3-7 March may be best.

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Monday, February 22, 2021

 

Thursday February 25 to Thursday March 4

The Full Moon is Saturday February 27. Saturn, Jupiter and Mercury are becoming more visible. Saturn, Jupiter and Mercury form a triangle in the morning twilight and over the week Mercury comes closer to Jupiter. Dimming but still bright Mars is readily visible the early evening skies within a binocular field of the Pleiades and is closest on March 4.. The asteroid Vesta is (just) visible to the unaided eye and is at opposition on March 4.

The Full Moon is Saturday February 27. The Moon is at Perigee, when it is closest to the Earth, on March 2. 

Morning sky on Satur
day,  February 27 showing the eastern sky as seen from Adelaide  at 6:04 am ACDST (60 minutes before sunrise). Saturn, Mercury and Jupiter form a triangle in the morning sky. Over the week Mercury draws closer to Jupiter.

 
 
 
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise), click to embiggen.
 
Whole sky at 21:23 ACDST  (90 minutes after sunset), on
Saturday, February 27 as seen from 
Adelaide.

 

 

 

Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). click to embiggen.

Evening sky at 21:16 ACDST  (90 minutes after sunset), on Thursday, March 4  facing north-west as seen from Adelaide. Mars is the brightest object low above the north-western horizon, Mars is at its closest to the Pleiades cluster. The inset shows the approximate binocular view of Mars and the Pleiades
 
 
 
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset), click to embiggen.
 
 
The North-east horizon as seen from Adelaide at 23:00 ACDST (10:00 pm non-daylight saving time) showing the location of Vesta (click to embiggen) on Thursday, March 4.
 
The inset shows the approximate binocular view at this time. 
 
Printable spotters maps of the opposition are here

 
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time.
 
 
Mercury is  brightening in the twilight and forms a triangle with Saturn and Jupiter. It is moving towards Jupiter and is close by the end of the week.

Venus is lost in the twilight

Mars is readily visible in the evening sky above the north-western horizon in the early evening. Mars is the brightest object low above the north-western horizon aside from the nearby Moon. Mars is within binocular range of the Pleiades and is closest on the 4th.
   
Jupiter is climbing higher in the morning twilight flowing a line with Saturn, later in the week brightening Mercury forms a triangle with the pair.This triangle remains for several days as Mercury heads towards Jupiter.
 
 Saturn is climbing higher in the morning twilight and above Mercury and Jupiter. Then on the 24th, Saturn, Jupiter, Venus and Mercury form a obvious triangle which will persist for some days.
 
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEDST, Western sky at 10 pm AEDST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.


 

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/ 


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Friday, February 19, 2021

 

Seeing Mars tonight after Perseverance's Landing(19 February 2021)

Evening sky at 21:37 ACDST  (90 minutes after sunset), on Thursday, February 19 facing north-west as seen from Adelaide. Mars is the brightest object low above the north-western horizon, aside from the nearby Moon, with Uranus nearby. Mars is drawing closer to the Pleiades cluster.
 
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset), click to embiggen.
The approximate view from Perseverance's landing site looking south east tonight (well actually, it's around 1 am, earth rises not long before local sunrise). 


Mars tonight is a little different. If you have clear skies (unlike me) look to the north-west. You eye is immediately drawn to the almost first quarter Moon. below and too the west (left) is the bright orange dot that is Mars.

Tonight, Mars is occupied by one more robot, the rover Perseverance (Percy) joins Curiosity roving over the surface of Mars after a nail biting descent using a sky-crane.   Amongst the bevy of science instruments is the experimental helicopter Intrepid. It is rather mind-boggling to think we may soon have a helicopter gallivanting around Mars.

Percy landed almost precisely on target in Jezero Crater, wher it will drill samples of an ancient river delta for signs of life. The samples will be returned to earth by a later mission is all goes well.

The river delta landing site of Percy is almost 4,000 kilometers from Curiosities landing site in the ancient lake-bed of Gale crater

The first images from Percy by the hazard cameras were received shortly after landing (you can see the public raw images here) and we can expect a trove of new images as the other instruments come on line.

If Percy was o take an image of the  night-sky towards dawn, it would look something like the image above. 

Percy and Curiosity will shortly joined by the Chinese lander from it's Tiawen-1 orbiter, which successfully achieved orbit earlier, along with the UAE's orbiter Hope. This is a bumper yera for Mar's planetary science, and we will never look at Mars in the same way from now on.


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Tuesday, February 16, 2021

 

Thursday February 18 to Thursday February 25

The First quarter Moon is Saturday February 20. The bright planet Venus is lost in the twilight but Saturn, Jupiter and Mercury are becoming more visible. On the 24th Saturn, Jupiter and Mercury form a triangle in the morning twilight. Dimming but still bright Mars is readily visible the early evening skies near the Pleiades and is close to the waxing Moon on the 18th and 19th.

The First quarter Moon is Saturday February 20. 

Morning sky on Wednesday,  February 24 showing the eastern sky as seen from Adelaide  at 6:01 am ACDST (60 minutes before sunrise). Saturn, Mercury and Jupiter form a triangle in the morning sky.

 
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise), click to embiggen.

 
 
 
 
Whole sky at 21:37 ACDST  (90 minutes after sunset), on
Saturday, February 20 as seen from 
Adelaide.The First Quarter Moon is under the Hyades.

 

Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). click to embiggen.

Evening sky at 21:37 ACDST  (90 minutes after sunset), on Thursday, February 19 facing north-west as seen from Adelaide. Mars is the brightest object low above the north-western horizon, aside from the nearby Moon, with Uranus nearby. Mars is drawing closer to the Pleiades cluster.
 
 
 
 
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset), click to embiggen.


Mercury is climbing higher and brightening in the twilight and forms a triangle with Saturn and Jupiter by the end of the week.

Venus is lost in the twilight

Mars is readily visible in the evening sky above the north-western horizon in the early evening. Mars is the brightest object low above the north-western horizon aside from the nearby Moon. Mars is near the Moon on the18 and 19th.
   
Jupiter is climbing higher in the morning twilight flowing a line with Saturn, later in the week brightening Mercury forms a triangle with the pair.This triangle remains for several days as Mercury heads towards Jupiter.
 
 Saturn is climbing higher in the morning twilight and above Mercury and Jupiter. Then on the 24th, Saturn, Jupiter, Venus and Mercury form a obvious triangle which will persist for some days.
 
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.


 

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/ 


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Monday, February 08, 2021

 

Thursday February 11 to Thursday February 18

The New Moon is Friday February 12. The bright planet Venus is low in the twilight morning skies.Venus is close to close to Jupiter and  the thin crescent Moon on  the 11th low in the twilight skies. On the 14th Venus, Jupiter and Mercury form a triangle low in the morning twilight. Dimming but still bright Mars now dominates the early evening skies and is close to the waxing Moon on the 18th.

The New Moon is Friday February 12. The Moon is at apogee, when it is furthest from the Earth, on the 18th.

Morning sky on Thursday,  February 11 showing the eastern sky as seen from Adelaide  at 6:18 am ACDST (30 minutes before sunrise). Venus is getting lower to the horizon. The inset shows the approximate view through 10x50 binoculars.

You will need a level, unobstructed horizon to see this. 

 
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (30 minutes before sunrise), click to embiggen.

Whole sky at 21:44 ACDST  (90 minutes after sunset), on
Saturday, February 13 as seen from 
Adelaide. With the Moon out of the way by the time it is fully dark in the evening, this is an excellent time to observe the constellations, particularly in the area between the Southern Cross and Canopus.

 

Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). click to embiggen.


Evening sky at 21:37 ACDST  (90 minutes after sunset), on Thursday, February 18 facing north-west as seen from Adelaide. Mars is the brightest object above the north-western horizon, aside from the nearby Moon, with Uranus nearby.

 
 
 
 
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset), click to embiggen.
 

Morning sky on Sunday,  February 14 showing the eastern sky as seen from Adelaide  at 6:22am ACDST (30 minutes before sunrise). Venus is getting lower to the horizon. It is close to Jupiter with Mercury nearby. The trio will all fit in the field of view of 10x50 binoculars. Saturn is above the trio.

You will need a level, unobstructed horizon to see this and Mercury will only be visible in binoculars. 

 Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (30 minutes before sunrise), click to embiggen.


Mercury is low in the twilight.  It will climb higher and be more visible by the end of the week..

Venus is still visible low above the horizon in the morning. This is probably the last week o see Venus before it is lost in the twilight glow.  You will need a level, unobstructed horizon to see it.  Venus is close to Jupiter and the crescent Moon on the morning of the 11th. Then on the 14th, Jupiter, Venus and Mercury form a triangle. You will need a level, unobstructed horizon to see this and Mercury will only be visible in binoculars. 

Mars is readily visible in the evening sky above the north-western horizon in the early evening. Mars is the brightest object above the north-western horizon as ide from the Moon. Mars is near the Moon on the18th
   
Jupiter is low in the morning twilight and meets Venus and the thin crescent Moon on the 11th.
 
 Saturn is climbing higher in the morning twilight and above Venus and Jupiter. Then on the 14th, Jupiter, Venus and Mercury form a triangle. You will need a level, unobstructed horizon to see this and Mercury will only be visible in binoculars.
 
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.


 

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/ 


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Monday, February 01, 2021

 

Thursday February 4 to Thursday February 11

The Last Quarter Moon is Friday February 5. The bright planet Venus is low in the twilight morning skies.Venus is close to Saturn low in the twilight on the 6th, then again close to Jupiter and  the thin crescent Moon low in the twilight skies. Dimming but still bright Mars now dominates the early evening skies.

The Last Quarter Moon is Friday February 5. 

Morning sky on
Saturday, February 6 showing the eastern sky as seen from Adelaide  at 6:13 am ACDST (30 minutes before sunrise). Venus is getting lower to the horizon and is joined by Saturn. The inset shows the approximate binocular view at this time.  You will need a level, unobstructed horizon to see this.  
 
 
 
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (30 minutes before sunrise), click to embiggen.

Whole sky at 21:53 ACDST  (90 minutes after sunset), on Saturday, February 6 as seen from 
Adelaide. With the Moon out of the way in the evening, this is an excellent time to observe the constellations, particularly in the area between the Southern Cross and Canopus.

 

Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). click to embiggen.

Evening sky at 21:53 ACDST  (90 minutes after sunset), on Saturday, February 6 facing north-west as seen from Adelaide. Mars is the brightest object above the north-western horizon with Uranus nearby.

 
 
 
 
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset), click to embiggen.
 
 

Morning sky on Thursday,  February 11 showing the eastern sky as seen from Adelaide  at 6:18 am ACDST (30 minutes before sunrise). Venus is getting lower to the horizon. The inset shows the approximate view through 10x50 binoculars.

You will need a level, unobstructed horizon to see this and binoculars to see this at its best. 

 
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (30 minutes before sunrise), click to embiggen.


Mercury is lost in the twilight.  It will return to the morning sky later in February.

Venus is still visible low above the horizon in the morningYou may need a level, unobstructed horizon to see Venus.  Venus is close to Saturn n the Morning of the 6th and Jupiter and the crescent Moon on the morning of the 11th.

Mars is readily visible in the evening sky above the north-western horizon in the early evening. Mars is the brightest object above the north-western horizon.
   
Jupiter is low in the morning twilight and meets Venus and the thin crescent Moon on the 11th.
 
 Saturn is low in the morning twilight and meets Venus on the 6th. 
 
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.


 

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/ 


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