March 2011
So far February has been as dismal for observing as January and December.
When it hasn’t been cloudy or raining it has been unbelievably hot with the atmosphere boiling away til the small hours of the morning.
Let’s hope March is clearer and cooler.
It is also very difficult to observe when the days have been really hot.
The heat haze and heat waves cause so much turbulence that star images dance around like a fireflies trapped in your telescope tube.
Often the night is not still even after midnight. Even planets and the Moon suffer in observing conditions like this so no sharp detail can be achieved.
In case there is some improvement here’s what we can look out for.
Saturn is rising by 9 pm toward the end of the month so is well placed for viewing after astronomical twilight, especially if you have a low eastern horizon.
There is a very good chart on P.31 of your Astronomy 2011 showing some times when the Saturnian moons are clustered together so make a note in your diary.
Try and match the view in your scope to the patterns shown!
Jupiter is now very close to the Sun and cannot really be viewed in a dark sky again until early May, re-appearing in the dawn sky.
Both Uranus and Neptune are in the low western evening sky as well and will also disappear behind the Sun with Jupiter during late February, early March.
One interesting conjunction occurs on the 27th of March when Venus and Neptune are only 0.4° apart before dawn.
A wide field low power eyepiece will show both planets in one field of view.
That doesn’t leave much for the planetary viewers but don’t forget the Moon, our often neglected and always interesting satellite.
This may be just the opportunity we need, while nothing else beckons, to brush up on our knowledge of the Moons geography.
For deep sky observers the Summer Milky Way, with Orion in the lead, is tilting over to the western horizon and if you look east just after true darkness you can see the head of Scorpius rising, heralding the onset of the Winter Milky Way.
One legend has it that the Scorpion was sent to destroy the upstart hunter Orion after he attempted to seduce the goddess Diana, daughter of Zeus.
Another story says Diana bested Orion in an archery contest but this made him all the more zealous in his pursuit.
Many gods witnessed the titanic battle which ensued and believing the two opponents to be of equal valour placed them both in the sky for eternity.
To safeguard the peace to this day Orion sets on one side of the heavens as Scorpio rises.
All the objects appearing in our photos are easily achieved with binoculars.
Clear Skies