So get your cameras out.
We have a bit of a celestial treat this Sunday in the late evening just after Sunset; it may be even be worth a trek up the garrison for it. Though if you’re lucky enough to live on St Agnes, or even Bryher, you should get a lovely view across the sweep of the western rocks.
On Sunday The Pleiades a very pretty little constellation and star cluster will be sparkling in the early evening sky between a thin crescent moon and the planet Mercury. You’ll need a clear view of the western sky just after sunset. This should make for fine viewing with the naked eye or with binoculars, but it would be nice if someone with a decent camera with a telephoto lens could catch a picture and email it in or maybe put it up on the Scillywebcam. There’s a guide on the blog, which means there’s no excuse so out with your cameras just after sunset on Sunday and that’s an order.
We have a new moon on Friday and after sunset, the elusive, extremely thin young crescent Moon displays its early-springtime upright smile. Look for it just above the west-northwest horizon, to the lower right of Mercury.
Mercury (about magnitude –0.5) is having its best evening apparition of the year. Look for it low in the west about an hour after sunset. Especially on Sunday when it hooks up with the Pleiades.
Venus still very bright shines low in the dawn. Look for it above the horizon due east about 60 to 40 minutes before sunrise. Don't confuse it with Jupiter, which is much higher, much dimmer, and much farther to the right in the southeast.
Mars is still loitering below Venus in the dawn and still isn’t up to much.
Jupiter is setting brighter and shines in the southeast before and during dawn.
Saturn is still the only planet which is with us all night it shines high in the southeast at dusk and highest in the south around 9 p.m.
We’ve had our first month of spring and the winter stars are fast disappearing. Look for a bright, bright star in the south west before 11 pm, this is Sirius, Orion dog.. As spring advances, bright Sirius is getting lower in the southwest at dusk. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest. It’s actually 2 stars, Sirius A and Sirius B, Sirius A is the one we can see, and if you stare at it, it seems to change colour ranging form white through yellow to blue. And its pretty close, which is why its so bright, at a distance of only 8.6 light-years, the Sirius system is one of our near neighbours.
Sirius A is about twice as massive as the Sun and is 25 times more luminous than the Sun, Sirius B is a white dwarf and well past its sell by date. The system is between 200 and 300 million years old it was there even before Nora started working at the paper shop, and its nice to see her back. And sadly, Sirius will on the other side of the sun until the autumn.
See you next week, if you can cope with it.
On Sunday The Pleiades a very pretty little constellation and star cluster will be sparkling in the early evening sky between a thin crescent moon and the planet Mercury. You’ll need a clear view of the western sky just after sunset. This should make for fine viewing with the naked eye or with binoculars, but it would be nice if someone with a decent camera with a telephoto lens could catch a picture and email it in or maybe put it up on the Scillywebcam. There’s a guide on the blog, which means there’s no excuse so out with your cameras just after sunset on Sunday and that’s an order.
We have a new moon on Friday and after sunset, the elusive, extremely thin young crescent Moon displays its early-springtime upright smile. Look for it just above the west-northwest horizon, to the lower right of Mercury.
Mercury (about magnitude –0.5) is having its best evening apparition of the year. Look for it low in the west about an hour after sunset. Especially on Sunday when it hooks up with the Pleiades.
Venus still very bright shines low in the dawn. Look for it above the horizon due east about 60 to 40 minutes before sunrise. Don't confuse it with Jupiter, which is much higher, much dimmer, and much farther to the right in the southeast.
Mars is still loitering below Venus in the dawn and still isn’t up to much.
Jupiter is setting brighter and shines in the southeast before and during dawn.
Saturn is still the only planet which is with us all night it shines high in the southeast at dusk and highest in the south around 9 p.m.
We’ve had our first month of spring and the winter stars are fast disappearing. Look for a bright, bright star in the south west before 11 pm, this is Sirius, Orion dog.. As spring advances, bright Sirius is getting lower in the southwest at dusk. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest. It’s actually 2 stars, Sirius A and Sirius B, Sirius A is the one we can see, and if you stare at it, it seems to change colour ranging form white through yellow to blue. And its pretty close, which is why its so bright, at a distance of only 8.6 light-years, the Sirius system is one of our near neighbours.
Sirius A is about twice as massive as the Sun and is 25 times more luminous than the Sun, Sirius B is a white dwarf and well past its sell by date. The system is between 200 and 300 million years old it was there even before Nora started working at the paper shop, and its nice to see her back. And sadly, Sirius will on the other side of the sun until the autumn.
See you next week, if you can cope with it.
2 comments:
Sirius has been incredibly colorful from my perspective in Boston. Amazing really. Flashing blue, green, white, amber.
What do you mean by "Sirius will be on the other side of the sun"?
Will I continue to be able to see it so brilliantly at night?
Thanks.
Simple really Orion Sirius and the other winter stars, the ones we see in the Southern sky all Winter will be on the other side of the sun. As we orbit they stay in the same place and the sun light gets in the way. Sirius is setting earlier everyday now and soon will only be in the sky during the day rather than at night. So I guess what I meant is it will be up during the day. So you won't see it again until the fall.
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