Sky This Week is brought to you in part by Celestron.
Friday, March 28
The Moon passes 9° south of Venus at 10 A.M. EDT this morning. We’ll check out the planet — now a morning star as well, visible before dawn — later in the week.
Tonight, let’s take advantage of the moonless dark to enjoy some deep-sky observing. A few hours after sunset, Virgo has cleared the horizon and appears in the southeast. Start by finding 4th-magnitude 110 Virginis, a star in far eastern Virgo near the constellation’s border with Serpens Caput. Center this sun in your scope, then slowly swing 1° to the east-southeast and look for a fuzzy, 10th-magnitude glow. That’s the elliptical galaxy NGC 5846, which appears about 4’ across.
No matter how much you magnify this type of galaxy, it will never grow less fuzzy. Ellipticals are simply dense balls of stars with little gas and dust, and without the arms and other structures found in spiral galaxies.
But if it’s a spiral you want, you’re in luck — look just 10’ further to the east-southeast, and you’ll discover 11th-magnitude NGC 5850, a stunning barred spiral with a compact, bright nucleus, prominent central bar, and outer ringlike structure. The larger your telescope, the better if you want to enjoy this one!
Sunrise: 6:50 A.M.
Sunset: 9:21 P.M.
Moonrise: 6:24 A.M.
Moonset: 6:43 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waning crescent (1%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. local time from the same location.
Saturday, March 29
New Moon occurs at 6:58 A.M. EDT. Following the total lunar eclipse that occurred earlier this month, the current celestial lineup of the Sun, Moon, and Earth now brings a partial solar eclipse, visible across parts of western Europe and Africa, the arctic, and northeastern North and South America.
Related: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: A Solar Eclipse
Because this is a partial solar eclipse, no part of the event will be safe to look at with the naked eye. You must view the entire eclipse, from start to finish, using eclipse glasses, a solar filter, or a pinhole viewer.
The amount of the Sun blocked will depend on your location. From the UK, about a third of the Sun will disappear behind the Moon, while in Canada, where greatest eclipse will occur, more than 90 percent of the Sun will lie behind the Moon’s disk, leaving only a thin sliver of our star visible.
In the U.S., the eclipse occurs from about 4:50 A.M. to 8:43 A.M. EDT, meaning the eclipse is already underway as the Sun rises on the East Coast. The farther north and east you are, the more of the Sun will be blocked, with the greatest coverage in northeastern Maine. From New York City, the Sun will be about 22 percent obscured at maximum eclipse, while in Washington, D.C., only 1 percent of the Sun will be clipped by the Moon. In these areas, maximum eclipse occurs within minutes of sunrise, so make sure you get out to a location with a clear eastern horizon for the best views.
You can find more details about the eclipse and look up whether and when it will occur from your location on timeanddate.com.
Sunrise: 6:48 A.M.
Sunset: 9:22 P.M.
Moonrise: 6:49 A.M.
Moonset: 8:01 P.M.
Moon Phase: New
Sunday, March 30
The Moon reaches perigee, the closest point to Earth in its orbit, at 1:25 A.M. EDT. At that time, our satellite will sit 222,530 miles (358,127 kilometers) away.
Venus passes 10° north of Saturn at 2 A.M. EDT. Bright Venus, now at magnitude –4.1, rises about an hour before the Sun and is located in western Pisces, near the 4th-magnitude star Iota (ι) Piscium in the Circlet asterism.
By about 6:15 A.M. local daylight time, Venus is 5° high in the east. Through a telescope, the planet’s disk stretches 58” wide and is just 3 percent lit, a slim crescent.
Saturn won’t rise until about 25 minutes before sunrise; the ringed planet is now magnitude 1.2 and will be hard to spot in the brightening sky unless you’ve got a telescope and a very clear eastern horizon. Make sure that if you do try to observe it with a telescope, you put away any optics at least several minutes before sunrise from your location, which may differ from the time given below.
Although it, too, rises shortly before sunrise, Mercury is far too faint to spot in the encroaching dawn. But just wait — it will become visible early next month.
Sunrise: 6:47 A.M.
Sunset: 9:23 P.M.
Moonrise: 7:16 A.M.
Moonset: 9:21 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (2%)
Monday, March 31
The crescent Moon stands 8° west of Uranus tonight, slowly setting in the west after the sky grows dark. By 9:30 P.M. local daylight time, the Moon is some 10° above the western horizon, located in central Aries. To its upper left, Uranus lies just over the border in Taurus. Binoculars or a telescope will show the magnitude 5.8 planet, which lies less than 0.5° east of a brighter magnitude 6.5 field star.
Visible without a telescope is the lovely Pleiades star cluster, also to the upper left of the Moon. This young group of stars spans about 110’ on the sky and contains at least six naked-eye stars, though some observers can see several more, particularly under clear, dark conditions.
Dominating the constellation Taurus is bright Jupiter, shining at magnitude –2.1 farther to the Pleiades’ upper left. It stands above the Bull’s brightest star, Aldebaran, an orangey-yellow red giant star just a touch brighter than magnitude 0.9.
Higher in the sky is the constellation Gemini, which currently houses Mars. We’ll visit this planet tomorrow night, so stay tuned.
Sunrise: 6:45 A.M.
Sunset: 9:24 P.M.
Moonrise: 7:47 A.M.
Moonset: 10:42 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (8%)
Tuesday, April 1
The Moon now passes 5° north of Uranus at 10 A.M. EDT.
Observers in parts of western Europe and northwestern Africa will see the Moon cross in front of the Pleiades this evening in an occultation that takes place during daylight for those in North America.
Less than four days old, the crescent Moon takes about two hours to pass through the northwestern region of the cluster, beginning shortly after 9 P.M. British Summer Time. Naked-eye observers will see only the brightest stars disappear, while binoculars or even a small telescope will show many more stars winking out as the dark limb of the Moon passes between them and Earth from our point of view. Larger telescopes will show even more faint stars briefly blotted out by the Moon.
Although this event isn’t visible in the U.S., Mars will put on a show as it stands less than 0.5° from Kappa (κ) Geminorum in the sky this evening. Gemini is high in the west after dark, easily identifiable by its two brightest stars, Castor and Pollux. Mars, now magnitude 0.4, lies to the lower left of Pollux. The planet far outshines magnitude 3.6 Kappa, though both should still be visible with the naked eye. Binoculars or a telescope will offer an even clearer view.
While you’ve got your optics out, swing your gaze up to Castor to enjoy this lovely double star. The brighter component shines at magnitude 1.9, while the fainter star is magnitude 2.9. They should be easy to split with any telescope.
Sunrise: 6:43 A.M.
Sunset: 9:25 P.M.
Moonrise: 8:23 A.M.
Moonset: —
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (15%)
Wednesday, April 2
Moving along the ecliptic, the Moon passes 6° north of Jupiter at 8 P.M. EDT. You can enjoy the pair in the western sky long after sunset, with the Moon hanging to the upper right of bright Jupiter, both in Taurus the Bull.
Some U.S. observers will be able to catch Jupiter’s Great Red Spot visible on the disk, most easily seen with a telescope. The Earth-sized storm is located centrally on the planet around 6:15 P.M. EDT, and by sunset on the East Coast has moved west of the planet’s central meridian. The Great Red Spot will continue moving toward the western limb as the planet rotates, disappearing within a few hours. The farther east you are, the longer you’ll be able to view it.
Once the sky grows dark, telescopic observers will also clearly see the planet’s four large moons: Io is alone to Jupiter’s east, while Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto are strung out to the west, in that order from nearest to farthest for most of the evening. Europa is quickly catching up to Ganymede as both move eastward toward the planet; observers in the western half of the U.S. will see Europa overtake Ganymede around midnight MDT when the pair stand in a line, with Europa north of Ganymede. After that, Europa is closer to the gas giant than Ganymede.
Meanwhile, over at Jupiter, Io begins a transit just after midnight EDT, when Jupiter is very low on the East Coast. The moon’s shadow joins it a little over an hour later, now as Jupiter is setting in the Midwest. The transit ends around 12:18 A.M. MDT, with the shadow transit ending moments before Jupiter has fully set in the Pacific time zone.
Mars is also on the move in Gemini; the Red Planet passes 4° south of Pollux at 11 P.M. EDT. You can enjoy the view all evening, with the ruddy world still close to Kappa Gem, having inched farther from the star by only a few arcminutes since last night.
Sunrise: 6:42 A.M.
Sunset: 9:26 P.M.
Moonrise: 9:08 A.M.
Moonset: 12:02 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (25%)
Thursday, April 3
Early risers can enjoy the constellation Scorpius standing on its tail in the south two hours before sunrise this morning.
Located near the stinger in the Scorpion’s tail, bright magnitude 3.3 M7 is also known as Ptolemy’s Cluster. Spanning some 80’, you can find it just over 4.5° northeast of Shaula (Lambda [λ] Scorpii).
Known since ancient times, this cluster is visible to the naked eye under good conditions. It is some 12.5° above the southern horizon at 4:30 A.M. local daylight time from the mid-U.S., but might appear higher or lower in the sky depending on your latitude. The cluster contains about 80 stars in all, and is a great target for binoculars and small scopes, as well as finder scopes. You’ll see its brighter stars stand out against a background of numerous stars in the Milky Way’s disk.
As an open cluster, all the stars in M7 are young — some 220 million to 300 million years old.
Sunrise: 6:40 A.M.
Sunset: 9:27 P.M.
Moonrise: 10:02 A.M.
Moonset: 1:15 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (35%)
Friday, April 4
First Quarter Moon occurs at 10:15 P.M. EDT. Our satellite is now in Gemini, quickly catching up to Mars. Tonight, you can find it below Castor and Pollux, the heads of the Twins, and to the lower right of the Red Planet, which is finally starting to pull away from Kappa Gem. Just look southwest an hour after sunset.
During this phase, half of the Moon’s nearside is in daylight and half is still covered by shadow. The terminator, the line that divides lunar night from day, runs down the middle of the visible disk. For the most striking views, use binoculars or a telescope to sweep your gaze along the terminator, where sunrise is essentially occurring on the Moon as you watch. That sunrise is sweeping across the landscape at a speed of some 9.6 mph (15.4 km/h). Look especially along crater walls near the terminator, where sharp-eyed observers can notice the shadows visibly change over the course of three to four hours.
Sunrise: 6:38 A.M.
Sunset: 9:28 P.M.
Moonrise: 11:06 A.M.
Moonset: 2:18 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (46%)
