The Sky Tonight

THE PLANETS

February and March 2008 - by Chris Marr

Mercury
Thanks to daylight saving (!), Mercury has been visible to many “early” risers hovering just above Venus in the pre-dawn sky lately. That will continue to be the case for the first week of April, but then Mercury moves back toward the Sun for a superior conjunction in mid-month. After that it moves back to the early evening sky.

Venus
As mentioned above, Venus has been prominent in the pre-dawn sky for a few weeks already, but during April it begins to sink towards a superior conjunction. By the end of April, and for all of May, Venus will be lost in the glare of the Sun. There’s one final photo opportunity for Venus when a slim crescent Moon appears nearby on 5 April.

Earth
The eta-Aquarids meteor shower begins on 19 April and runs through to 28 May, peaking on 6 May, when there will be no Moon. Unfortunately, it’s a pre-dawn shower, but with up to 110 yellow meteors per hour, it might be worth grabbing the camera gear and spending the night out.

Mars
Mars remains in the evening sky for this period, starting in Gemini and then slowly moving into Cancer in early May. The Moon appears close to Mars on 12 April and again on 10 May. Between 22 and 24 May, Mars crosses in front of the Beehive Cluster (M44).

Jupiter
Jupiter is slowly returning to our evening skies, rising around 10pm by the end of April, and around 8pm by the end of May. It begins a period of retrograde motion on 10 May. The Moon will appear near the gas giant on 27 April and again on 24 May.

Saturn
The magnitude 1.3 star Regulus will partner Saturn for this whole period, and at times they will appear only about 2 degrees apart. The Moon will join them for a threesome on 15 April and again on 12-13 May.

Uranus
Uranus remains in Aquarius for this period, starting out as a pre-dawn object and slowly climbing until it will be rising around 1am by the end of May.

Neptune
If you’re a fan of Neptune, or a fan of occultations, and you can head north on 29-30 April, then you might be in for a treat. From Carnavon northwards, Neptune will be occulted by the Moon on that night, at about 2.30am. For the rest of us, it will just be a very close encounter. Neptune remains in Capricornus during this period, and on 27 May it begins a long spell of retrograde motion.

By Chris Marr
[Information Source : "Astronomy 2008" by Glenn Dawes, Peter Northfield and Ken Wallace]

Constellations

Have you ever wondered when a particular constellation will be visible? Check the culmination dates for the constellations, which are given for 2100 local time. Also included in this list are their common and genitive names, and their officially recognized abbreviations. These dates are valid world-wide, but not all constellations will be visible from all latitudes.