Bellatrix Orionis

Interesting things happening in March that Bellatrix Orionis is hoping to observe

Visual guide from Hubble Site.

Monday 1 March

If you want to catch a view of Mars you’d better do it this month as it is well placed in the constellation Cancer.

Tuesday 2 March

Saturn can be found 8° north of the Moon at 02:00UT.

Wednesday 3 March

Find the Moon below the star Spica in Virgo during the late evening.

Thursday 4 March

Why not take a look at the Beehive Cluster (M44) in the constellation Cancer.

Friday 5 March

Saturn’s moons Rhea and Titan are in conjunction tonight.  They will be closest at 22:02UT.
Looking for something a bit more challenging?  Why not try to find minor planet Vesta which is halfway between Algieba and Epsilon Leonis.

Saturday 6 March

If you have clear skies why not compare the shades of red between Aldebaran (in the constellation Taurus), Betelgeuse (in the constellation Orion) and the planet Mars.

Sunday 7 March

The waning Moon can be found close to the supergiant star Antares in the early hours of the morning.  The Moon rises at approximately 02:00UT.

Monday 8 March

See if you can spot Bode’s Nebula (M81) and the Cigar Galaxy (M82) in the constellation of Ursa Major.

Tuesday 9 March

If you like occultations tonight is your night.  The Moon occults the star Lamdba Sagittarii during the early morning.

Wednesday 10 March

The crescent Moon and the Pleiades Open Cluster are separated by approximately 6°.

If you’re looking for more of an observational challenge why not see if you can locate the Beehive Cluster (M44) or Comet 81P/Wilde.

Thursday 11 March

The moon Titan can be seen to the east of Saturn (a telescope will be needed to view it).

Friday 12 March

If you’re new to astronomy why not use the stars in Orion’s belt to help you find Sirius (the dog star) in the constellation Canis Major.

Saturday 13 March

The star Procyon in the constellation Ursa Minor can be seen high in the early evening sky.

Sunday 14 March

Need help to find Polaris? Use the ‘pointer’ stars Dubhe and Merak in the constellation of Ursa Major (the great bear).

Monday 15 March

If you have clear skies why not see if you can find M81 and M82 as well as the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51).

If you’d prefer an easier target then why not look at the Hyades Cluster in Taurus.

Tuesday 16 March

Fancy a challenge? See if you can find three bright Messier clusters in the constellation Auriga.

• M36
• M37
• M38

Wednesday 17 March

A very thin crescent Moon can be found above Venus in the twilight.

Thursday 18 March

The crescent Moon appears to form a curved line with the start in the constellation Aries.

Friday 19 March

The moon Titan can be found to the west of Saturn, though a telescope will be needed to view it.

Saturday 20 February

Spring equinox.

The crescent Moon is less than 2° from the Pleiades open cluster (M45).

Monday 21 February

Another challenge for you.  Can you find the companion star to Regulus in the constellation Leo (you’ll need either binoculars or a telescope).

Tuesday 22 February

Tonight is the best time to view Saturn as it’s visible for most of the evening.

Wednesday 23 February

The first quarter Moon can be found just under the constellation Gemini.

Thursday 24 March

The Moon forms an upside down ‘Y’ with Castor, Pollux and Mars.

Friday 25 March

The Moon can be seen below Mars in the constellation of Cancer.

Saturday 26 March

Mercury can be seen below Venus during twilight.

Sunday 27 March

The Moon occults the star Omicron Leonis during the early morning.

Monday 28 March

After sunset you can see the Moon and Saturn to it’s left.

It’s also the start of British Summer Time so the clocks go forward at 01:00UT.

Tuesday 29 March

Venus and Mercury can be seen in conjunction during twilight.

Wednesday 30 March

Full Moon tonight and because of it’s libration (wobble) you’ll be able to see more of it’s northern hemisphere.

Thursday 31 March

Mercury and Venus are at there closest approach tonight, they will be approximately 3.5°.

Interesting things happening in February

Visual guide from Hubble Site.

Monday 1 February

See if you can find the Crab Nebula in Taurus using binoculars (it’ll be in the south west of the sky).

Mars will continue to be in a fabulous position for observing all month so grab your telescope and head to a dark spot for observing.

Tuesday 2 February

The ‘Double Cluster’ in Perseus will be overhead at 18:00UT.

Wednesday 3 February

Spot the Moon near Saturn during the early morning.

Thursday 4 February

The Moon can be found close to Spica in the constellation Virgo during the morning.

Friday 5 February

The last quarter of the Moon can be seen in the constellation Libra during the early hours.

Saturday 6 February

Mars occults the star TYC 1942-2407-1 between 05:03 and 05:13UT.  If you’re looking for a challenging observation this is the one for you.

Sunday 7 February

Mars can be found north of the Beehive Cluster (M44) in the south east of the sky.

Monday 8 February

Why not have a look at the Great Orion Nebula which can be found in the sword of Orion.

Tuesday 9 February

Have a go at spotting some deep-sky objects, it’ll be easier as the Moon is not visible.

• Mizar and Alcor
• M101 – The Pinwheel Galaxy
• M51 – The Whirlpool Galaxy
• M40
• M97 – The Owl Nebula
• M81 and M82

If you want to have a pootle round Gemini with your binoculars/telescope it’s well place for viewing tonight.

Wednesday 10 February

Thin crescent Moon can be seen low in the south east sky at 06:30UT.

Thursday 11 February

The variable star R Cygni is at its brightest just before dawn in the south east.

You can catch two of Saturn’s brightest moons, Titan and Rhea on the western side of the planet at 23:00UT

Friday 12 February

Uranus can be found below Pisces in the west, but you’ll need either binoculars or a telescope.

Saturday 13 February

Variable star Algol (an eclipsing binary) in the constellation of of Perseus will be at its minimum at 20:00UT.

Sunday 14 February

New Moon.

Monday 15 February

During the early evening twilight you’ll be able to view the crescent Moon, Venus and Jupiter.

Tuesday 16 February

Find the ‘dog star’ Sirius in the south of the sky.

Venus and Jupiter will be in conjunction and can be seen just after sunset.

Wednesday 17 February

The crescent Moon is low in the western sky.

Thursday 18 February

Minor planet 4 Vesta can be found in the constellation Leo near the star Gamma Leonis in the east.

Friday 19 February

See if you can resolve the double star Castor in the constellation of Gemini with a telescope.

Saturday 20 February

If you want to see Antares, the supergiant in Scorpius you need to be out of bed early (06:00UT).

Monday 21 February

The Moon has a ‘close encounter’ with the Pleiades (M45).

Tuesday 22 February

The first quarter Moon can be seen above the star Aldebaran in the constellation of Taurus.

Wednesday 23 February

Variable star U Orionis is at its brightest tonight (magnitude +6.3).  It varies in magnitude between +6.3 and +12 over a period of 368 days

Thursday 24 February

The Moon forms a triangle with the stars Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini.

Friday 25 February

The Moon forms a triangle with Mars and the star Pollux in the constellation Gemini.

Saturday 26 February

Can you resolve the double star Algieba in the constellation of Leo with a telescope?

Sunday 27 February

The Moon  seen near the star Regulus in the constellation of Leo.

Monday 28 February

Check out the crater Tycho on the full Moon.

X-ray: NASA/CXC/U.Waterloo/C.Kirkpatrick et al.; Radio: NSF/NRAO/VLA; Optical: Canada-France-Hawaii-Telescope/DSS

Check out this fantastic composite image of the Hydra A galaxy cluster.  The gas jets, observed by Chandra are super hot (approx ten million degrees) with radio emissions in pink which the Very Large Array (VLA) spotted.

It’s thought that some of the elements found in the jet had been produced in a Type Ia supernova in the large galaxy at the centre of the cluster.  It’s then thought that an outburst from the supermassive black hole then pushed the material outwards extending for almost 400,000 light years.

The outburst from the supermassive black hole also have created spaces, or cavities within the hot gas.  A fairly recent outburst created a pair of cavities visible in the image as dark regions.  The cavities are so large that it would be possible to put the Milky Way galaxy inside them.  There are even larger cavities, which are too faint to be visible in this image created by more powerful earlier tantrums from the black hole.  The largest cavity discovered so far extends for more than 670,000 light years.

Visual guide from Hubble Site.

Friday 1 January

The variable star Algol dips to minimum brightness at 20:06UT.

Comet Siding Spring should appear at its brightest.

Saturn’s largest moon Titan reappears from eclipse at 23:44UT.

Jupiter can be seen near Neptune in the south west during the evening and is visible through binoculars.

Saturday 2 January

The Moon can be seen near Mars during the early evening.

Sunday 3 January

The Earth is at Perihelion, the closest point in its orbit to the Sun (which is only 147 million km away).

The annual Quadrantid Meteor shower reaches it’s peak at around 18:00UT. Unfortunately the Moon rises at 20:00 which will make observing difficult.

Monday 4 January

The Moon can be found near Regulus during the early morning.

Tuesday 5 January

81P/Wild lies just over a degree to the south of Saturn.

The constellation Cassiopeia will be directly overhead at 19:00UT.

Wednesday 6 January

The Moon is close to Saturn and can be seen due south at 05:00UT.

Thursday 7 January

The last quarter Moon can be seen in the east after midnight.

Friday 8 January

The Moon can be found below Spica in in the constellation of Virgo during the morning.

Saturday 9 January

The bright star Capella can be found overhead at 22:00UT.

Sunday 10 January

Orion can be found due south at 22:00UT.

Monday 11 January

The waning crescent Moon can be seen close to the super-giant Antares, the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius at 07:00UT.

Tuesday 12 January

The Triangulum Galaxy can be seen at 19:00UT, binoculars or a telescope will be needed.

Wednesday 13 January

The thin waning crescent of the Moon lies about 7° south of the planet Mercury which is at magnitude +1.0. This will be visible just before sunrise in the south east.

The constellation Cetus can be seen in the south between 18:00 and 19:00UT.

Thursday 14 January

Uranus can be seen to the south west with the naked eye, providing you are at a dark site.

Friday 15 January

New Moon.

The Pleiades cluster can be seen high in the sky at 20:00UT. If you have a good view see if you can spot the ‘lost’ Pleiade.

Saturday 16 January

The variable star Epsilon Aurigae is now reaching the deepest part of its 27 year eclipse cycle.

A slim crescent Moon can be seen in the east after sunset.

Sunday 17 January

The constellation Aries can be seen in the south during the early evening.

Monday 18 January

The crescent Moon can be seen above Jupiter at 18:00UT.

Tuesday 19 January

The constellation Cygnus can be found low in the western sky at 19:00UT.

Wednesday 20 January

A thick crescent Moon can be seen close to the Circlet of Pisces.

Thursday 21 January

The variable star Algol (an eclipsing binary) is at minimum tonight at 21:48UT.

Friday 22 January

Why not have a look at the Bradley Mountains on the Moon tonight.

Saturday 23 January

The first quarter of the Moon can be seen in the constellation of Aries.

Sunday 24 January

Mercury is low in the sky before dawn to the south west.

Monday 25 January

The waxing gibbous Moon can be found to the left of the Pleiades Open Cluster and above the Hyades Open Cluster.

Tuesday 26 January

Saturn can be found in the constellation of Virgo in the east during the late evening.

Wednesday 27 January

Mercury is at its greatest western elongation and is visible in the morning sky.

The star Sirius can be found low in the sky to the south at 22:00UT.

Thursday 28 January

The Moon occults the star Delta Geminarum during the early evening.

Friday 29 January

Mars can be found in constellation of Cancer in the south east and is visible all evening. This is one of the best times to view Mars.

Saturday 30 January

Full Moon. This is the brightest and biggest Moon of the year.

The Moon is also at at it’s perigee (closest point to the Earth).

The minor planet Pallas can be seen in the south east close to the globular cluster M5 during the early morning.

Sunday 31 January

The Moon occults the star Omicron Leonis during the early morning.

Comet 157P/Tritton (mag +11.9) can be found 0.5° to the south of the spiral galaxy M74 (mag +9.8) in the constellation of Pisces.

Credit: NASA, ESA, F. Paresce (INAF-IASF, Bologna, Italy), R. O'Connell (University of Virginia, Charlottesville), and the Wide Field Camera 3 Science Oversight Committee

Check out this fantastic image from the Hubble Space Telescope.  It shows a massive young stellar group called R136, which is only a few million years old and can be found in the 30 Doradus Nebula.

Check out the Hubble site for more images and videos.

So you watched the trailer created by Adrian West of Newbury AS and now it’s time to get out and Look Up.

You should be looking east/south east towards the constellation of Gemini and Orion (shown below)

The meteor shower will appear in the constellation of Gemini (hence it’s name) and is caused by an object called 3200 Phaethon which used to be thought of as an asteroid, but has since been discovered to be an extinct comet.  Because the comet had too many encounters with the Sun it’s no longer a ‘dirty snowball’ but a rocky skeleton.

The meteor shower is expected to peak at around midnight of  13 December and it’s rumoured that if conditions are good it could be possible to see between 120 and 140 meteors an hour

Interesting things happening in December

Visual guide from Hubble Site.

Tuesday 1 December
Moon lies close to M45 during the evening.

Wednesday 2 December
Full Moon, the highest of the year.

Thursday 3 December
Moon occults M35.
16 Psyche in conjunction with Jupiter during the evening.

Friday 4 December
Moon at Perigee and also occults Delta Geminorum.

Saturday 5 December
Moon to the right of M44 during the evening.

Sunday 6 December
Moon can be found south of M44 during the morning.

Monday 7 December
Moon south of Mars during the morning.

Tuesday 8 December
The Moon lies below Regulus.

Wednesday 9 December
Last quarter Moon.
Monocerotids meteor shower peak.

Thursday 10 December
Moon south of Saturn.
Jupiter in conjuction with Gamma Capricorni.

Friday 11 December
Moon lies to right of Spica during the morning.

Saturday 12 December
Vesta is just south of 46 Leonis during the morning.

Sunday 13 December
Crescent Moon lies lower right of Alpha Librae.

Monday 14 December
Geminids meteor shower peak.
Uranus at quadrature.

Tuesday 15 December
Comet Kopff in conjunction with Uranus (the comet is very faint).

Wednesday 16 December
New Moon.

Thursday 17 December
Mercury is very low in the southwest half an hour after sunset.

Friday 18 December
Mercury at greatest elongation east.
Crescent Moon above left of Mercury.

Saturday 19 December
Cresent Moon is in  conjunction with Beta Capricorni.

Sunday 20 December
Jupiter in conjunction with Neptune (last one until 2022)
Moon at apogee (furthest from the Earth).

Monday 21 December
Winter solstice

Moon above Jupiter and Neptune.

Tuesday 22 December
Ursids meteor shower peak.
Asteroid Juno at quadrature.

Wednesday 23 December
Moon to the upper right of Uranus and close to the Circlet of Pisces.

Thursday 24 December
First quarter Moon.

Friday 25 December
Saturn at quadrature.

Saturday 26 December
Moon close to Eta Piscium during the evening.

Sunday 27 December
Moon south of Beta and Gamma Arietis during the morning.

Monday 28 December
Moon to the right of M45 during the evening.

Tuesday 29 December
Moon ‘grazes’ M45.

Jupiter in conjunction with Mu Capricorni.

Wednesday 30 December
Moon lies to the right of M35.

Thursday 31 December
Full Moon.
Partial lunar eclipse
Mercury at perihelion.

Here’s another Symphony of Science video.

Check out this fantastic video with Carl Sagan and Professor Stephen Hawking

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