Saturday: Did you get binoculars for the holidays? Like Celebrate Scientists Day or Science Education Day (both March 14) If so, start using them on some of the easy to find binocular targets found here: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/best-targets-for-binoculars-moon-planets-nebula-clusters/. The first item on the list, the Moon, is a wonderful choice this week because it is full this week, meaning it is out all night. One of my favorite binocular objects is the Hyades Open Star Cluster. It is a V-shaped set of stars found about four fists held upright and at arm’s length above the western-southwestern horizon at 8:00 p.m. The bright star Aldebaran is in the upper left-hand portion of the V, just below Aldebaran is the double star system Theta1 and Theta2 Tauri. Theta2 Tauri is a blue giant star and Theta1 Tauri is an orange giant star. Through binoculars, you should get a hint of their color. In the mythology of the Maya, the Theta Tauri pair is known as Chamukuy, meaning “small bird” in the Yucatec Maya language.
Sunday: Mercury will be as far away from the Sun in the sky
as it will get this orbital cycle. This "farthest away" point is
known as the planet's greatest elongation. Since Mercury is in the evening sky,
it is east of the Sun so this occurrence is called the greatest eastern
elongation. This evening will be the best evening to observe Mercury for the
next few weeks. Mercury is one fist above western horizon at 8:00 p.m. Over the
next few weeks, Mercury will move toward the Sun in the sky. By mid-May, it will
be barely visible in the morning sky.
Earlier in the week, I invited you to use binoculars to
observe the moon. Tonight, I challenge you to use your unaided eyes to notice
the subtle dimming of the full moon. It is dimmer because the moon will pass
through the partial or penumbral shadow of the Earth starting at 9:53 p.m.
Pacific Daylight Time. Maximum dimming occurs at 12:13 a.m. at mid-eclipse.
This is a very minor eclipse. But eclipses always come in pairs. And the
partner to this one is a biggie: the total solar eclipse that will pass over North
America from western Mexico through eastern Canada on April 8.
Monday: Jupiter is nearly two fists above the western
horizon at 9:00 p.m.
Tuesday: Spica is about a half a fist to the upper right of
the moon at 10:00 p.m.
Wednesday: Mars is less than a half a fist above the
east-southeastern horizon at 6:15 a.m.
Thursday: Signs of spring: flower buds, leaves on the trees,
beetle larvae, and the Spring Triangle. The bright stars Regulus, Arcturus, and
Spica rise as evening starts. By 10:00 p.m., Regulus is five and a half fists
above the south-southeastern horizon, Arcturus is two and a half fists above
due east, and Spica is one fist above the east-southeastern horizon. For more
on the Spring Triangle, go to http://tiny.cc/ep7vtz.
Friday: The Milky Way is pretty easy to spot in the early
spring sky. Just look up. Everything you see in the sky, including that bird
that just startled you, is in the Milky Way. But even the path of densely
packed stars in the plane of our galaxy that look like a river of milk is easy
to find. Face due west at 9:00 p.m. in a fairly open area. The fuzzy Milky Way
path starts due south, moves upward past the bright star Sirius, near Mars,
towards the bright star Capella, through W-shaped Cassiopeia and down to due
north where the bright star Deneb sits just above the horizon.
The positional information in this column about stars and
planets is typically accurate for the entire week. For up-to-date information
about the night sky, go to https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm.
All times are Pacific Time unless noted.
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