Astroblog

The Full Moon is Tuesday, March 7. Jupiter and Venus are at their closest on the 2nd, then Jupiter descends into the twilight. Mercury and Saturn are close together low in the morning twilight on the 3rd. Bright Mars, the red star Aldebaran and the star Elnath form a line.

The Full Moon is Tuesday, March 7. The Moon is at apogee, when it is furthest from the Earth, on March 4

 Morning sky on Friday, March 3  as seen from Adelaide at 06:23 ACDST, (45 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen). Mercury is low to the horizon and close to Saturn.

   

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (45 minutes before sunrise). 

 Evening sky on Thursday, March 2 as seen from Adelaide at 20:51 ACDST, (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). Venus is low above the horizon and at it's closest to Jupiter.  You will need a low, unobstructed horizon to see the pair at their best.

The inset shows the binocular view of Venus and Jupiter at this time.

   

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset). 

Evening sky on Saturday, March 4 as seen from Adelaide at 21:15 ACDST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). Mars, the red star Aldebaran and the star Elnath form a line.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). 

 

Labels: weekly sky

Evening sky on Thursday, March 2 as seen from Adelaide at 20:51 ACDST, (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). Venus is low above the horizon and at it's closest to Jupiter.  You will need a low, unobstructed horizon to see the pair at their best. The inset is the binocular view of the pair.

   

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset). 

The March edition of Southern Skywatch is now up.  

This month the planetary action is still largely in the evening skies, with Venus and Mars prominent and bright, Jupiter is lost in the twilight, mid month Saturn enters the morning twilight twilight and is close to Mercury early in the month.

March 2; Venus and Jupiter at their closest. March 3; Mercury and Saturn close low in the twilight. March 4; apogee Moon. March 7; Full Moon. March 15; Last Quarter Moon. March 20; the thin crescent moon near Saturn in the morning twilight. March 20; Moon at perigee. March 22; New Moon. March 24; the crescent Moon is very close to Venus in the twilight. March 29; First Quarter Moon. March 28; the Moon is close to Mars. March 30, Mars close to open cluster M35. March 31; Venus is just 1.5 degrees from Uranus.

Mercury falls back towards the eastern horizon and is lost to view early in the month, reappearing in the evening twilight late this month. On the 3rd Saturn is about 1 degree from Mercury deep in the twilight. You will need a level, unobstructed horizon and binoculars to see the pair at their best.

  Venus climbs yet higher in the evening sky this month; the low angle of the ecliptic means it never gets really high although it is prominent at nautical twilight by the month Venus is (just) visible when the sky is full dark. Venus has three close encounters this month. The stand out is on the 2nd when Venus and Jupiter are just 0.5 apart, visible well before nautical twilight, difficult telescopically. On the 24th Venus will be just 1° from the crescent moon, making a fine binocular sight. Venus currently looks like a gibbous Moon. On the 31st Venus is just 1.5 degrees from Uranus. 

Earth is at equinox on Tuesday, 21 March. At this time day and night are roughly equal in duration.

Mars is making a line with Aldebaran and the Beta Taurii. At the beginning of the Month Mars also forms a triangle with Beta and Zeta Taurii (the tips of the horns). Mars is shrinking in telescopic view but is still a worthwhile telescopic object this month. By the end of the Month Mars is close to the open cluster M35, an excellent sight in binoculars.  On the 28th Mars is around 4° from the waxing moon (very obvious as the brightest object near the moon), mid power binocular fields will just fit the pair in.

Jupiter is lowering in the north-western evening sky. Venus and Jupiter have been approaching each other all February, and on the 2nd on March they are just 0.5° apart. Jupiter continues to sink towards the horizon and is lost to view around mid month.

Saturn enters the morning skies but is only really visible from mid-March. On the 3rd Saturn is about 1 degree from Mercury deep in the twilight. You will need a level, unobstructed horizon and binoculars to see the pair at their best. On the 20th Saturn is close to the thin crescent moon low in the morning twilight.

 

Labels: southern skywatch

The First Quarter Moon is Monday, February 27. Jupiter is sinking towards the horizon into the twilight, coming closer to Venus and the pair are at their closest on the 2nd. Bright Mars, the red star Aldebaran and the star Elnath form a line with the crescent Moon joining them on the 28th. Mercury is lowering in the morning twilight.

The First Quarter Moon is Monday, February 27.

Morning sky on Saturday, February 25  as seen from Adelaide at 06:02 ACDST, (60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen). Mercury is low to the horizon.

   

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise). 

Evening sky on Thursday, March 2 as seen from Adelaide at 20:51 ACDST, (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). Venus is low above the horizon and at it's closest to Jupiter.  You will need a low, unobstructed horizon to see the pair at their best.

   

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset). 

 

Evening sky on Tuesday February 28 as seen from Adelaide at 21:23 ACDST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). Mars, the red star Aldebaran and the star Elnath form a line with the crescent moon between Mars and Elnath.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). 

 

Labels: weekly sky

The New Moon is Monday, February 20. Jupiter is sinking towards the horizon into the twilight, coming closer to Venus which is challenging Jupiter for the brightest evening object. On the 22nd the crescent Moon is close to Venus and on the 23rd the Moon is close to Jupiter. The pair and the crescent Moon make a nice sight in the twilight. Bright Mars, the red star Aldebaran and the star Elnath form a line.

The New Moon is Monday, February 20. The Moon is at Perigee, when it is closest to the Earth, on the 19th.

Morning sky on Sunday, February 19  as seen from Adelaide at 05:55 ACDST, (60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen). Mercury is close to the Moon.

   

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise). 

Evening sky on Wednesday, February 22 as seen from Adelaide at 20:59 ACDST, (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). Venus is low above the horizon with the crescent Moon just above and Jupiter nearby.  On the 23rd the crescent Moon is close to Jupiter, making a nice lineup. You will need a low, unobstructed horizon to see Venus at its best.

   

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset). 

 

Evening sky on Saturday February 18 as seen from Adelaide at 21:31 ACDST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). Mars, the red star Aldebaran and the star Elnath form a line.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). 

 

Labels: weekly sky

The Last Quarter Moon is Tuesday, February 14. Jupiter is sinking towards the horizon into the twilight, coming closer to Venus which is challenging Jupiter for the brightest evening object.  The pair make a nice sight in the twilight. Bright Mars, the red star Aldebaran and the Pleiades cluster form a triangle. Comet C/2022 E3 continues to climb the evening sky and is close to Mars on the 11th, and the red star Aldebaran on the 14th. 

The Last Quarter Moon is Tuesday, February 14. 

 Morning sky on Saturday, February 11  as seen from Adelaide at 05:46 ACDST, (60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen). Mercury is below the the tail of Scorpius and the teapot of Sagittarius.

   

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise). 

 

Evening sky on Saturday, February 11 as seen from Adelaide at 20:56 ACDST, (45 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). Venus is low above the horizon with Jupiter above and coming closer. You will need a low, unobstructed horizon to see Venus at its best.

   

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (45 minutes after sunset). 

 

Evening sky on Saturday February 11 as seen from Adelaide at 21:47 ACDST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). Mars, the red star Aldebaran and and the Pleiades cluster form a triangle. Comet C/2022 E3 is close to Mars.

Jupiter is seen low in the west

 

The insets are the telescopic views of Mars and Jupiter at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). 

 

Labels: weekly sky

 Evening sky showing the track of comet C/2022 E3 from Monday February 6 to Tuesday February 14 as seen from Adelaide at 21:56 ACDST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). The comet is easily visible in binoculars and can be located by sweeping up from the bright star Capella above the northern horizon towards Mars and the star Aldebaran. For more detailed carts and spotters maps see my C/2022 E3 page.

 

The February edition of Southern Skywatch is now up. 

This month the planetary action is largely in the evening skies, with Venus. Jupiter and Mars prominent and bright, Saturn is lost in the twilight and Mercury begins to leave morning sky. February is also when the long-awaited comet C/2022 E3 enters the evening sky.

February 4; apogee Moon. February 6; Full Moon. February 5-6; comet C/2022 E3 becomes visible in Australian skies. February 14; Last Quarter Moon. February 19; the thin crescent moon near Mercury in the morning sky. February 19; Moon at perigee. February 20; New Moon. February 22; the crescent Moon is very close to Venus in the twilight. February 22-23; Jupiter, the crescent Moon and Venus make a nice line-up. February 26; the crescent Moon is close to Jupiter. February 29; First Quarter Moon. February 28; the Moon is close to Mars, Venus and Jupiter close. 

Mercury begins to fall back towards the eastern horizon sky this month. On the 19th the thin crescent moon is less than 4° above Mercury. You will need a level, unobstructed horizon to see the pair at their best. You may need binoculars to clearly see the pair. On the 1st Mercury is just one and a half hand-spans from from the eastern horizon an hour before sunrise. On the 15th Mercury is just under one and a half hand-spans from from the eastern horizon an hour before sunrise. By the 28th Mercury is just one and a half hand-spans from from the eastern horizon half an hour before sunrise.

 Venus climbs higher in the evening sky this month; the low angle of the ecliptic means it never gets really high although it is prominent at nautical twilight by the end of the month Venus has three close encounters this month. On the 15th Venus and Neptune are just 10 arc-minutes apart, but this will be almost impossible to observe. On the 22nd Venus will be just 1° from the crescent moon, making a fine binocular sight. Venus currently looks like a gibbous Moon. Venus and Jupiter have been approaching each other all month, and on the 28th are just 2° apart and will be even closer in March, they will make a fine binocular pair but telescopic observation will be tricky.  

Mars is well past opposition this Month but is still prominent, making a triangle with Aldebaran and the Pleiades. As the month progress mars fades more as it moves down the “horns” of Taurus the Bull. By the end of the Month Mars forms a triangle with Beta and Zeta Taurii (the tips of the horns). Mars is shrinking in telescopic view but is still a worthwhile telescopic object this month. On the 28th Mars is around 3° from the waxing moon (very obvious as the brightest object near the moon), mid power binocular fields will fit the pair in.  

Jupiter is lowering in the north-western evening sky. It is a difficult telescopic object best captured just before astronomical twilight early in the month. On the 22nd and the 23rd Jupiter the crescent Moon, and Venus make a pleasing line up in the twilight. Venus and Jupiter have been approaching each other all month, and on the 28th are just 2° apart and will be even closer in March.  

Saturn is lost in the twilight and will enter the morning skies mid-March.

Labels: southern skywatch