The Sky This Week for February 28 to March 5
Open star clusters visible with binoculars, the Moon at perigee, and other cool things to look for in the sky this week.
By Michael E. Bakich
Tuesday, February 28
Head out tomorrow night an hour after sunset and locate Mars. Although the Red Planet shines at magnitude 1.3, it lies low in the western sky. But you’ll have some help. Look for the reddish point not quite 5° northwest of the waxing crescent Moon. At the time, our lone natural satellite will appear 15 percent illuminated.
Wednesday, March 1
As I write this, I don’t know if March will come in like a lion or a lamb, but if your sky is clear you can spot the celestial lion tonight. Look toward the east for the constellation Leo the Lion. The easiest way to find it is to first find the Big Dipper, which tonight stands high in the northeast. Just poke a virtual hole in the Dipper’s bowl and follow the water as it runs out. You might hear a mighty roar as the water falls on Leo’s back. Now that you’re in the general area, search for a backward question mark with a bright star as its bottom. The question mark’s curve is the Lion’s head and mane. The bright blue star is Regulus, also known as Alpha Leonis. It marks Leo’s heart. The rest of the constellation lies to the east of the question mark. Look for a triangle of stars with bright Denebola (Beta Leonis) marking the tip of Leo’s tail.
Thursday, March 2
One of the greatest of all telescope targets — Saturn — rises in the southeast tomorrow morning around 2:30 a.m. local time. The ringed world resides in the constellation Sagittarius the Archer near that star pattern’s border with Ophiuchus the Serpent-bearer. It now shines at magnitude 0.5. Use a magnification of 100x in a 3-inch or larger telescope, and you’ll see Saturn’s magnificent rings tilted 27° to our line of sight. Look for a dark line called the Cassini Division near the rings’ outer edge. This 2,900-mile-wide (4,667km) gap separates the outermost A ring from the brighter B ring. Saturn shows a 16″-diameter disk surrounded by a stunning ring system that spans 36″.
Friday, March 3
The Moon is at perigee, the closest point in its orbit around Earth, at 3 a.m. EST. It will then lie 229,324 miles (369,062 kilometers) away. But because the Moon’s orbit is not circular, its distance from Earth varies by some 13 percent. Still, this morning’s perigee is the second farthest during 2017. The only perigee further will occur in September, when the Moon will lie 798 miles (1,284 km) farther away.
Saturday, March 4
Head outdoors around 10:30 p.m. local time and look for the sky’s fourth-brightest star rising in the east. That’s Arcturus (Alpha Boötis), the luminary in the constellation Boötes the Herdsman. The easiest way to find Arcturus is to first find the Big Dipper, which tonight stands high in the northeast. Note that the Dipper’s handle is curved. Follow that curve downward and you’ll come to Arcturus. Because the handle’s curve is also part of a circle called an arc, use the old phrase, “Follow the arc to Arcturus,” to remember how to locate the orange star.
Sunday, March 5
First Quarter Moon occurs at 6:32 a.m. EST. If you watch carefully, you may see the half-lit orb rising in the northeast just past noon local time. Geometrically, First Quarter means the Sun-Earth-Moon angle equals 90°. When this angle, where Earth always represents the vertex, is 0°, we experience New Moon. That’s when the Moon and the Sun line up. At 180°, the Full Moon lies opposite the Sun as we see it and dominates the night. And when the angle is 270°, the Last Quarter Moon rises at midnight and sets 12 hours later.
Source
Witches Of The Craft® 