The Primary Quarter Selene body-related body seems to float above Astral body Earth in this image snapped from the International Cosmos Station. Credit: NASA
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Friday, March 28
The Selene body-related body passes 9° south of Venus at 10 A.M. EDT this morning. We’ll check out the Astral body — now a morning Sun as well, visible before dawn — later in the week.
Tonight, let’s take Edge of the moonless Gloomy to enjoy some deep-sky observing. A few hours after sunset, Virgo has cleared the Perspective and appears in the southeast. Begin by finding 4th-magnitude 110 Virginis, a Sun in Distant eastern Virgo near the constellation’s border with Serpens Caput. Hub 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 Sun system NGC 5846, which appears about 4’ across.
No matter how much you magnify this type of Sun system, 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 Secured in spiral galaxies.
But if it’s a spiral you want, you’re in luck — look Merely 10’ Additional to the east-southeast, and you’ll discover 11th-magnitude NGC 5850, a stunning barred spiral with a compact, Intelligent nucleus, prominent central bar, and outer ringlike structure. The larger your Stargazer’s tool, 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.
Selene body-related body Period: Waning crescent (1%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Selene body-related body’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. local time from the same location.
Saturday, March 29
New Selene body-related body occurs at 6:58 A.M. EDT. Subsequent the total Selene body-related eclipse that occurred earlier this month, the Ongoing Astral lineup of the Sun, Selene body-related body, 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 Astral study with Dave Eicher: A Solar Eclipse
Because this is a partial solar eclipse, no part of the event will be Danger-Reachable to look at with the naked eye. You must view the entire eclipse, from Begin 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 Selene body-related body, while in Canada, where greatest eclipse will occur, more than 90 percent of the Sun will lie behind the Selene body-related body’s disk, leaving only a Slim sliver of our Sun 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 Selene body-related body. In these areas, maximum eclipse occurs within minutes of sunrise, so make sure you get out to a location with a clear eastern Perspective 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.
Selene body-related body Period: New
Sunday, March 30
The Selene body-related body reaches perigee, the closest Mark to Earth in its Trajectory, at 1:25 A.M. EDT. At that time, our Orbiter will sit 222,530 miles (358,127 kilometers) away.
Venus passes 10° north of Saturn at 2 A.M. EDT. Intelligent Venus, now at magnitude –4.1, rises about an hour before the Sun and is located in western Pisces, near the 4th-magnitude Sun 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 Stargazer’s tool, the Astral body’s disk stretches 58” wide and is Merely 3 percent lit, a slim crescent.
Saturn won’t rise until about 25 minutes before sunrise; the ringed Astral body is now magnitude 1.2 and will be Difficult to spot in the brightening sky unless you’ve Acquired a Stargazer’s tool and a very clear eastern Perspective. Make sure that if you do try to observe it with a Stargazer’s tool, you put away any optics at least Many minutes before sunrise from your location, which may differ from the time given below.
Although it, too, rises shortly before sunrise, Mercury is Distant too faint to spot in the encroaching dawn. But Merely wait — it will become visible Prompt Upcoming month.
Sunrise: 6:47 A.M.
Sunset: 9:23 P.M.
Moonrise: 7:16 A.M.
Moonset: 9:21 P.M.
Selene body-related body Period: Waxing crescent (2%)
Monday, March 31
The crescent Selene body-related body stands 8° west of Uranus tonight, slowly setting in the west after the sky grows Gloomy. By 9:30 P.M. local daylight time, the Selene body-related body is some 10° above the western Perspective, located in central Aries. To its upper left, Uranus lies Merely over the border in Taurus. Binoculars or a Stargazer’s tool will show the magnitude 5.8 Astral body, which lies less than 0.5° east of a brighter magnitude 6.5 Pitch Sun.
Visible without a Stargazer’s tool is the lovely Pleiades Sun cluster, also to the upper left of the Selene body-related body. This Youthful group of stars spans about 110’ on the sky and contains at least six naked-eye stars, though some observers can see Many more, particularly under clear, Gloomy conditions.
Dominating the constellation Taurus is Intelligent Jupiter, shining at magnitude –2.1 farther to the Pleiades’ upper left. It stands above the Bull’s brightest Sun, Aldebaran, an orangey-yellow red giant Sun Merely a touch brighter than magnitude 0.9.
Higher in the sky is the constellation Gemini, which currently houses Mars. We’ll visit this Astral body 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.
Selene body-related body Period: Waxing crescent (8%)
Tuesday, April 1
The Selene body-related body now passes 5° north of Uranus at 10 A.M. EDT.
Observers in parts of western Europe and northwestern Africa will see the Selene body-related body cross in front of the Pleiades this evening in an occultation that takes place during daylight for those in North America.
Less than four Periods Aged, the crescent Selene body-related body takes about two hours to Throw 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 Tiny Stargazer’s tool will show many more stars winking out as the Gloomy limb of the Selene body-related body passes between them and Earth from our Mark of view. Larger telescopes will show even more faint stars briefly blotted out by the Selene body-related body.
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 Gloomy, easily identifiable by its two brightest stars, Castor and Pollux. Mars, now magnitude 0.4, lies to the lower left of Pollux. The Astral body Distant outshines magnitude 3.6 Kappa, though both should Yet be visible with the naked eye. Binoculars or a Stargazer’s tool will offer an even clearer view.
While you’ve Acquired your optics out, swing your gaze up to Castor to enjoy this lovely double Sun. The brighter component shines at magnitude 1.9, while the fainter Sun is magnitude 2.9. They should be Fundamental to split with any Stargazer’s tool.
Sunrise: 6:43 A.M.
Sunset: 9:25 P.M.
Moonrise: 8:23 A.M.
Moonset: —
Selene body-related body Period: Waxing crescent (15%)
Wednesday, April 2
Moving along the ecliptic, the Selene body-related body passes 6° north of Jupiter at 8 P.M. EDT. You can enjoy the pair in the western sky long after sunset, with the Selene body-related body hanging to the upper right of Intelligent Jupiter, both in Taurus the Bull.
Some U.S. observers will be able to catch Jupiter’s Excellent Red Spot visible on the disk, most easily seen with a Stargazer’s tool. The Earth-sized storm is located centrally on the Astral body around 6:15 P.M. EDT, and by sunset on the East Coast has moved west of the Astral body’s central meridian. The Excellent Red Spot will continue moving toward the western limb as the Astral body rotates, disappearing within a few hours. The farther east you are, the longer you’ll be able to view it.
Once the sky grows Gloomy, telescopic observers will also clearly see the Astral body’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 Relocate eastward toward the Astral body; 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 Beginnings a transit Merely after midnight EDT, when Jupiter is very low on the East Coast. The Selene body-related body’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 Relocate in Gemini; the Red Astral body passes 4° south of Pollux at 11 P.M. EDT. You can enjoy the view all evening, with the ruddy world Yet close to Kappa Gem, having inched farther from the Sun 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.
Selene body-related body Period: Waxing crescent (25%)
Thursday, April 3
Prompt 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, Intelligent magnitude 3.3 M7 is also known as Ptolemy’s Cluster. Spanning some 80’, you can find it Merely over 4.5° northeast of Shaula (Lambda [λ] Scorpii).
Known since ancient times, this cluster is visible to the naked eye under Excellent conditions. It is some 12.5° above the southern Perspective 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 Excellent target for binoculars and Tiny 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 Reachable cluster, all the stars in M7 are Youthful — some 220 million to 300 million years Aged.
Sunrise: 6:40 A.M.
Sunset: 9:27 P.M.
Moonrise: 10:02 A.M.
Moonset: 1:15 A.M.
Selene body-related body Period: Waxing crescent (35%)
Friday, April 4
Primary Quarter Selene body-related body occurs at 10:15 P.M. EDT. Our Orbiter 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 Astral body, which is finally Leading to pull away from Kappa Gem. Merely look southwest an hour after sunset.
During this Period, half of the Selene body-related body’s nearside is in daylight and half is Yet covered by shadow. The terminator, the line that divides Selene body-related night from day, runs down the middle of the visible disk. For the most striking views, use binoculars or a Stargazer’s tool to sweep your gaze along the terminator, where sunrise is essentially occurring on the Selene body-related body as you View. That sunrise is sweeping across the landscape at a Velocity of some 9.6 mph (15.4 km/h). Look especially along crater walls near the terminator, where Acute-eyed observers can notice the shadows visibly Shift over the Duration 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.
Selene body-related body Period: Waxing crescent (46%)
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