Photo of the Week. Having left, the leaves shall
return.
Astronomy news for the week starting Friday, February 17, 2012.
The Moon fades the early part of the week in its waning crescent phase as it heads toward
new Moon on Tuesday, February 21. Your last view of the ultraslim
crescent, given a good horizon, will be the morning of Monday the
20th. It will thereafter pop up in the early evening sky as an
even thinner waxing crescent (and a
difficult catch) the twilight-filled evening of Wednesday the 22nd
to the right of the planet
Mercury, which is beginning to make a nice appearance. By the
early night of Thursday the 23rd, the crescent will be obvious well
down and to the right of Venus, the two
preparing for a lovely pairing early next week.
Venus: superlatives abound. The planet has become so bright that
it is being taken for a UFO that follows wherever you go. Nicely
visible in a dark sky more than two hours after the end of
twilight, it does not set until after 9 PM. And as bright as it is
now, it will just keep getting better until April and early May, so
enjoy the show. At the same time, Mercury is showing itself far
below it. Following along behind Venus is number two in the
planetary brightness parade,
Jupiter, which in the early part of the week goes to the
horizon less than two hours after Venus disappears, the two
approaching a fine conjunction in the middle of March a few days
before the welcome coming of spring. On the other side of the sky,
bright orange-red Mars rises (still in southeastern Leo) around 7 PM just as twilight
draws to a close. Then wait a few hours to catch the rising of Saturn (just to the
northeast of fainter Spica, the two
unmistakable) around 10:30 PM. The morning sky remains the domain
of the two planets, Mars crossing the meridian to the south at 1:30 AM, Saturn
following at 4 AM with Mars and Leo then well into the western
skies.
Orion, standing high to the south
at 8 PM, still enthralls. Below him look for the ragged boxes of
stars that make the Hunter's perpetual prey, Lepus, the Hare, which seems to run from Canis Major, the Larger Dog (noted by
bright Sirius) immediately to the
east. Much farther down is the flat triangle that composes the
modern constellation of Columba,
the Dove. From the deep southern US, Canopus, the sky's second brightest
star, makes an appearance far below Sirius, seeming to skim along
the horizon.
