Sky this Week: January 31–February 9, 2014 Your daily digest of celestial events coming soon to a sky near you. By Richard Talcott | Published: Friday, January 31, 2014 RELATED TOPICS: MERCURY | SATURN | JUPITER The Moon points the way to Mercury in early February The Moon points the way to Mercury in early February, when the innermost planet appears near its maximum altitude after sunset. Astronomy: Roen Kelly Friday, January 31 Mercury climbs to its maximum altitude in tonight’s evening sky, when it lies some 11° high in the west-southwest 30 minutes after sunset. This peak coincides with the planet reaching its greatest elongation from the Sun. Mercury shines at magnitude –0.6, so it should be easy to spot in the deepening twilight. If you can’t see it with naked eyes, try using binoculars, which also will reveal a waxing crescent Moon to the planet’s lower right. (Tomorrow evening, the Moon appears directly above Mercury.) Target the planet through a telescope and you will see a 7-diameter disk that appears half-lit. Saturday, February 1 Be sure to target the irregular galaxy M82 with your telescope this week. Observing this galaxy through a 14-inch telescope January 21, an undergraduate class at the University of London discovered a type Ia supernova — the complete thermonuclear annihilation of a white dwarf star that had collected too much mass from its companion star in a binary system. The blast has since brightened to around magnitude 10.5 (as of January 31), probably at or near its peak. This puts it within range of a 4-inch scope. To find M82, first locate the Big Dipper, which lies low in the northeast as evening twilight fades and climbs highest in the north around 1 a.m. local time. The galaxy stands about 10° northwest of Alpha (α) Ursae Majoris, the star at the northwestern corner of the Dipper’s bowl. Orion_030512 The main constellations of the Northern Hemisphere’s winter sky were on display as the photographer captured this scene above La Ventana Arch in El Malpais National Monument in New Mexico. Orion the Hunter stands in the upper right corner and the sky’s brightest star, Sirius (Alpha Canis Majoris), lies just to the right of center. Procyon (Alpha Canis Minoris) is to Sirius’ upper left. It, along with copper-colored Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) and Sirius, helps form the asterism known as the Winter Triangle. John A. Davis Sunday, February 2 The brightest star in the night sky puts on a nice show on February evenings. Gleaming at magnitude –1.5, Sirius shines nearly four times brighter than the next brightest star visible from mid-northern latitudes: Arcturus in the constellation Boötes. (Although the planet Jupiter now shines nearly three times brighter.) Sirius appears in the southeastern sky around 7 p.m. local time and climbs highest in the south by 10 p.m. For those who believe in folklore, the fate of winter rests on the shoulders of the groundhog. If the furry rodent sticks his head out of his burrow this morning and sees his shadow, we’ll have six more weeks of winter. But if the weather is cloudy, it means spring is right around the corner — and not a moment too soon for winter-weary Americans. What does this have to do with astronomy? Groundhog Day celebrates one of the four so-called cross-quarter days, which mark the midpoints between the solstices and equinoxes. February 2 falls approximately midway between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox. Monday, February 3 Although Jupiter reached opposition and peak visibility nearly a month ago (on January 5), it remains a stunning sight from dusk until it sets after 5 a.m. local time. The giant planet shines at magnitude –2.6 among the background stars of central Gemini. Turn a telescope on Jupiter and you will see a 45-diameter disk that displays plenty of atmospheric detail. This evening, you can also watch the jovian moon Io cross the planet’s disk. This transit begins at 11:36 p.m. EST and runs until 1:52 a.m. EST tomorrow morning. Io’s shadow trails the moon across Jupiter’s disk by some 43 minutes. Tuesday, February 4 If you look to the eastern sky around 11 p.m. local time, you’ll see Mars just poking above the horizon. Shining at magnitude 0.2, the ruddy point of light appears noticeably brighter than its neighbor, blue-white Spica, in the constellation Virgo the Maiden. The Red Planet currently lies 5° north and a touch east of the star. The best time to view Mars through a telescope comes in the hour or two before morning twilight begins, when it lies halfway to the zenith in the south and directly above Spica. When viewed through a telescope, the planet’s ocher-colored disk spans 9. Ads by PlusHD.3Ad Options Asteroid Herculina is on display in Taurus the Bull during February 2014 Although Herculina wasnt among the first 500 asteroids discovered, its bright enough this month to spy through a small scope. Astronomy: Roen Kelly Wednesday, February 5 Tonight provides a golden opportunity for observers to track down a high-numbered asteroid. If you turn your telescope to the 3rd-magnitude star Zeta (ζ) Tauri, the southern horn of the constellation Taurus the Bull, the closest point of light in your eyepiece will be asteroid 532 Herculina. This 10th-magnitude asteroid spans nearly 130 miles, which places it around 20th in size among all asteroids. Its discovery lagged behind 531 others because it doesn’t reflect as much light as typical asteroids. Thursday, February 6 You can find the First Quarter Moon high in the south as darkness falls, then watch as it sinks toward the western horizon throughout the evening hours. Our satellite officially reaches First Quarter phase at 2:22 p.m. EST. The Moon lies in the southeastern corner of Aries the Ram, some 12° below the Pleiades star cluster (M45) in the early evening. Saturn_070813 Saturn shines against the backdrop of Libra the Balance in February. Damian Peach Friday, February 7 Saturn is an easy object to find in the south-southeast before morning twilight commences. You’ll spot it among the background stars of the constellation Libra the Balance. From mid-northern latitudes, the ringed planet lies nearly 35° above the horizon two hours before sunrise. Shining at magnitude 0.5, Saturn is the brightest object in this part of the sky. A telescope reveals the planet’s 17-diameter disk surrounded by a beautiful ring system that spans 38 and tilts 23° to our line of sight. Saturday, February 8 For those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, today marks the peak of the annual Alpha Centaurid meteor shower. And with the Moon setting by 2 a.m. local time, viewing conditions should be near perfect until twilight begins around 5:30 a.m. The shower’s radiant — the point from which the meteors appear to originate — lies among the background stars of Centaurus (although, oddly enough, closer to 1st-magnitude Beta [β] Centauri than to its brighter neighbor, Alpha [α] Centauri). The shower typically produces about 6 meteors per hour at its peak, although observers have reported between 20 and 30 per hour in a couple of years. The meteors tend to be bright and often leave persistent trains. Sunday, February 9 Although Venus passed through inferior conjunction nearly a month ago (on January 11), its rapid orbital motion already has brought it nicely into view before dawn. This morning, the planet rises in a dark sky more than two hours before the Sun. An hour before sunrise, it appears nearly 15° high in the southeast. Venus shines at magnitude –4.9, which makes it by far the brightest point of light in the sky. When viewed through a telescope, the planet displays a 45-diameter disk that is just 20 percent lit.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 16:54:41 +0000
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