The planet Mercury is far too close to the Sun and probably hard to find and see. The planet is only 7° from the Sun in the constellation Pisces. The planet Venus is best seen in the early mornings at about 6.30 am, just before Sun rise. The planet is getting closer to the Sun though. Mars is best seen from midnight onwards and is in in the constellation Scorpius. The giant planet Jupiter is best seen from 8 pm onwards, throughout the night and is in the constellation Leo. Saturn is best seen from about 1.45 am onwards, low at the horizon and in the constellation Ophiuchus.
The Gegenschein is visible at about 1.20 am. It is a faint glowing patch of sky relatively good for observation 33° above the Southern horizon and in the constellation Virgo.
Wednesday 30 March
Today in 239 BC it was the first recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet by Chinese astronomers in the Shih Chi and Wen Hsien Thung Khao chronicles. The 75-year orbit carries out well beyond the orbit of Neptune and well inside the orbits of Earth and Venus when it swings in around the Sun. Edmond Halley predicted in 1705 that the comet that appeared over London in 1682 would reappear again in 1759, and that it was the same comet that appeared in 1607 and 1531. When the comet did in fact reappear again in 1759, as correctly predicted, it was named after Halley.
The International Space Station, called ISS appears at 9.19 pm in the South South West at only 9 degrees high. ISS is visible as a bright moving "star" in the sky and can be seen with the naked eye. You do not need a telescope or binocular. ISS disappears already after a few minutes at 9.21 pm in the South.
The Moon is in maximum declination South at 11.13 pm. This is the lowest Southernmost Moon position of the next 10 years, and the 2nd lowest of the year. Then former lower Southern Southernmost Moon position was on 3 March 2016. The next lower Southern Southernmost Moon position is on 13 March 2034.
Features on and around Jupiter can be seen with a good binocular or smaller telescope. Keep it steady and you will notice the 4 Moons around or on Jupiter. At 11.24 pm the Great Red Spot is in transit on the giant planet. At 1.06 am the Jupiter Moon Io begins its transit. At 1.31 am the Jupiter Moon Europa disappears and at 2.39 am the Jupiter Moon Ganymede begins the transit over the planet. Multi moon and shadow event starts for 42 minutes. We have now 2 Moons (Io, Ganymede) and 1 shadow (from Io) in front of Jupiter. Only 1 Moon is visible around Jupiter: 1 occulted or eclipsed, 2 in transit. At 3.21 am the Jupiter Moon Io ends its transit and at 3.53 am ends its shadow transit. At 4.46 am the Jupiter Moon Ganymede begins its shadow transit and at 5.19 am the Jupiter Moon Europa ends its eclipse.
In between, at 4.10 am an Iridium flare appears. Iridiums are satellites (as ISS) which moves in the night sky, slowly, as a star. You do not need any optical aid. It is easy to see with the naked eye. Flares do lit up and got bright by a sudden. This flare is in the West at altitude of 44° in the constellation Ursa Major.
Thursday 31 March
The Moon is in maximum libration at 1.14 pm. This is the largest total libration of the year. The former larger total libration was on 1 November 2015. The next large total libration is on 7 July 2018. It is also Last Quarter Moon at 4.16 pm. It is the Southernmost Last Quarter Moon of the year. The former more Southern Last Quarter Moon was on 13 March 2015. The next more Southern Last Quarter Moon is on 20 March 2017.
ISS appears at 8.27 pm in the South South West. Culmination is at 8.32 pm in the South East and only at an altitude of 10°. ISS disappears in the Earth's shadow immediately there.
Although the small planet Mercury is too close to the Sun to observe, at 9.12 pm Mercury is close to the planet Uranus. They are only 33.5' or one lunar diameter separated. Again, only 8° from the Sun and not visible.
After one rotation of 90 minutes, ISS appears again at 10.02 pm in the South West. But it is a short pass. ISS disappears already at 10.05 pm in the South West at an altitude of 13°. Look for a good and clear horizon.
After midnight, at 1.09 am the Jupiter Moon Io ends its eclipse.
A very bright Iridium flare appears at 4.04 am in the West at an altitude of 44° in the constellation Ursa Major.
The Great Red Spot is in transit on the giant planet Jupiter at 5.11 am. Jupiter is only 9° above the horizon. So look for a clear sky at the Eastern horizon.
Another, fairly bright Iridium flare appears at 5.41 am in the South South West at an altitude of 61° in the constellation Hercules.
Friday 1 April
No joke … The Moon is in maximum libration West at 4.44 pm. The crater Grimaldi is tipped into the Earth's view. This is the Westernmost total libration of the year. The former more Western total libration was on 13 March 2015. The next more Western total libration is on 20 May 2017.
ISS appears at 9.10 pm in the South West. Culmination is at 9.15 pm in the South South East at an altitude of 26°. ISS disappears at that point in the Earth's shadow.
The Jupiter Moon Europa begins it shadow crossing over the giant planet disc at 9.17 pm. A multi Moon and shadow event starts for about 30 minutes. There will be 2 Moons (Io, Europa) and 2 shadows (from Io, Europa) in front of Jupiter. Use a small telescope or hold a good binocular steady to see the surface of the planet. At 9.47 pm the Jupiter Moon Io ends its transit. It is still called a mullti shadow and Moon event, and this lasts for about 34 minutes. Here we have 1 Moon (Europa) and 2 shadows (from Io, Europa) in front of Jupiter. At 10.21 pm the Jupiter Moon Io ends it shadow crossing.
ISS appears once more at 10.46 pm in the West South West. A short pass, as ISS disappears already at 10.48 pm and 10° above the horizon.
Back to Jupiter. At 10.54 pm the Jupiter Moon Europa ends its transit and at 0.04 am the Jupiter Moon Europa ends its shadow crossing. Finally, the Great Red Spot is in transit on the giant planet at 1.02 am.
A bright Iridium flare appears at 5.35 am in the South South West at an altitude of 61° in the constellation Corona Borealis.
Before Sunrise at 5.40 am the Moon is close to the star called Dabih. They are less than 5 lunar diameters separated. You also will see the Earthshine on the Moon.
Saturday 2 April
Today in 1845 the first surviving daguerrotype photograph showing details of the Sun was taken by French physicists Armand Fizeau and Léon Foucault. The 5-inch or 12 cm image had an exposure of 1/60 second, and showed the umbra/penumbra structure of several sunspots, as well as limb darkening. The photographic process was new that time.
An Iridium flare appears at 8.15 pm in the North at an altitude of 43° in the constellation Cepheus.
ISS appears at 8.18 pm in the South South West. Culmination is at 8.23 pm in the South East at an altitude of 18°. ISS disappears shortly after at 8.25 pm in the East at 9°. One rotation takes approximately 90 minutes. ISS appears again at 9.53 pm in the West South West but soon disappears after 5 minutes at an altitude of 43° in the South South West. ISS passes close to the bright star called Procyon. They are just over a lunar diameter separated.
Sunday 3 April
Today in 1973 the first portable phone call was placed by inventor Martin Cooper. The phone was 10 inches in height, 3 inches deep and an inch-and-a-half wide and weighed 30 oz. Since then, ... you know how a smart phone looks ... and besides phoning, what you can do a lot with it!
At 8.09 pm an Iridium flare appears in the North at an altitude of 45° in the constellation Cepheus.
ISS appears at 9.01 pm in the West South West. Culmination is at 9.06 pm in the South South East 39° above the horizon. Shortly after, at 9.08 pm ISS disappears in the East at an altitude of 21°. ISS passes the giant planet and they are less than a lunar diameter separated. Have a look as it is a good view!
The Jupiter Moon Ganymede ends its eclipse at 10.10 pm.
ISS appears again for a short pass at 10.37 pm in the West. ISS disappears already at 10.41 pm in the West South West at an altitude of 23°.
The Great Red Spot is in transit on the disc of Jupiter at 2.41 am.
The crescent Moon moves through the stars of Capricornus this morning and heads towards the Sun. It will be New Moon the 7th and will then emerge into the early evening sky in the days that follow. Look for the Earthshine on the Moon's darkening surface.
Monday 4 April
Today in 1983 the space shuttle Challenger went into orbit on its maiden voyage. It was named after the British Naval research vessel HMS Challenger that sailed the Atlantic and Pacific oceans during the 1870's. The Challenger joined the NASA fleet of reusable winged spaceships and flew nine successful Space Shuttle missions. But on 28 January 1986, its tenth launch, the Challenger and its crew of seven were lost 73 seconds after launch when a booster failure resulted in the breakup of the vehicle.
The ISS appears at 8.09 pm in the South West. Culmination is at 8.14 pm in the South South East at an altitude of 29°. ISS disappears shortly after at 8.18 pm in the East. One orbit and ISS appears again at 9.45 pm in the West South West. ISS passes close to the star Bellatrix in the constellation Orion. They are only 2 lunar diameters separated. Culmination of ISS is at 9.50 pm in the South at an altitude of 65° and ISS disappears at 9.51 pm in the South East at 57° above the horizon.
The Great Red Spot transits the giant planet Jupiter at 10.32 pm.
Another short ISS pass at 11.21 pm in the West. Disappearing already at 11.23 pm at an altitude of 10°.
Just before Sun rise the Moon is visible as a Lunar Crescent. Only 54 hours before New Moon. The Moon rises at 5.42 am only 49 minutes before the Sun.
Tuesday 5 April
Mercury is in perihelion at 5.50 pm. The distance to the Sun is 0.3075 AU. One Astronomical Unit (AU) is the average distance of the Earth to the Sun.
ISS appears at 8.52 pm in the West South West. Culmination is at 8.58 pm in the South South East at an altitude of 55°. ISS disappears at 9 pm in the East at 15° above the horizon. After one orbit, ISS appears again at 10.29 pm in the West. But shortly after disappears at 10.33 pm in the West South West at an altitude of 37°.
At 3.42 am a bright Iridium flare is visible in the West at an altitude of 39° in the constellation Ursa Major.
The Great Red Spot is in transit on the giant planet Jupiter at 4.19 am.
The Moon occults the planet Venus after Sun rise, and so in daylight at 8.59 am. You will need a telescope or a good binocular to see Venus disappearing behind the Moon. The altitude is 23° and the Moon phase is 2%. The Sun altitude is 22°. A nice challenge
Wednesday 6 April
Today In 1852 Edward Sabine announced that the 11 year sunspot cycle was “absolutely identical” with the geomagnetic cycle. Later, using a larger dataset, Rudolf Wolf confirmed this fact. Since Isaac Newton's explanation of the effect of the Sun's gravity on Earth, this was the first new phenomenon of the Sun interacting with the Earth.
The Moon occults the planet Venus after Sun rise, and so in daylight at 8.59 am. You will need a telescope or a good binocular to see Venus disappearing behind the Moon. The altitude is 23° and the Moon phase is 2%. The Sun altitude is 22°. A nice challenge
Daylight, at 11.35 am the Sun rotation axis is at maximum tilt.
The International Space Station, called ISS appears at 8pm in the West South West. ISS is a satellite and visible as a bright moving "star" in the sky. It is easy to spot with the naked eye. You do not need a telescope or binocular. ISS reaches the highest point or culmination in the sky at 8.05 pm in the South South East and 43° above the horizon. ISS disappears at 8.10 pm in the East. One orbit around the Earth takes ISS approximately 90 minutes. ISS appears again at 9.36 pm in the West. Culmination is at 9.42 pm in the South at an altitude of 70°. ISS disappears at 9.43 pm in the East South East at 40° above the horizon. A very short appearance once more at 11.13 pm in the West. Disappearance already after 2 minutes at 13° altitude.
Features on the giant planet Jupiter, as well as the 4 brightest Moons can be observed with a small telescope, or, if you could hold still, with a good binocular. The Great Red Spot is in transit on the planet at 0.10 am. At 2.52 am the Jupiter Moon Io begins its transit over the planet. At 3.32 am the shadow of the Jupiter Moon Io begins its crossing over the giant planet.
Satellites, such as ISS and Iridiums are easily to see in the sky. Moving as a bright "dot" or "star" in the sky. Iridiums flare up at a sudden. At 3.37 am a flare appears in the West at an altitude of 39° in the constellation Ursa Major.
Back to Jupiter. At 3.48 am the Jupiter Moon Europa disappears for an occultation behind Jupiter. At 5.06 am the Jupiter Moon Io ends its transit over the planet.
Get in touch with me via www.patrickpoitevin.weebly.com if you need more information.