The Globe at Night initiative enlists the help of amateur astronomers everywhere across the globe to submit what the sky looks like in their area with respect to how light pollution affects their visible sky. This week's video focuses on that effort, and explains how to easily find the constellations used by Globe at Night as well as how to submit observations quickly and easily.
To learn more about this effort and to submit your observations, visit www.globeatnight.org.
Uranus is a 5.9 magnitude object in the sky; barely visible naked eye from very dark locations, and visible with binoculars from most light polluted areas. So how to find it among the other 5th, 6th and 7th magnitude objects in the area? Use a brighter object to guide the way! On our journey around the Sun, the other planets' positions change relative to our own, and this week, we see Venus "passing by" Uranus in the night sky. As many amateurs have never even seen Uranus through optical instruments, this is a great week to try and spot our solar system's 7th planet. Download the PDF chart here (4.1 MB) to help you spot Uranus this week.
Also in the sky: Mars and the Moon make a magnificent pair in the sky this week, and as Mars is close to opposition, now is a good time to view not only the Red Planet, but some Messier galaxies that are nearby as well - thought it is better to spot them in a week or so, after the Moon has revolved further east in the sky.
Find the 6, easy to spot, naked eye stars of the Winter Circle (or Winter Hexagon), as well as Collinder 70 and Messier 41 within that area. A tour of several bright stars in the area includes close-ups of each star to get a sense of their relative size, and later the ecliptic is examined thanks to the alignment of Venus, Jupiter and the Moon.
Finishing the tour of Taurus, this week's "Eyes on the Sky" video focuses on how to find and see the Pleiades and M1, the Crab Nebula. Light pollution and light trespass avoidance strategies to enhance viewing of dim celestial objects are discussed. Also highlighted: Jupiter and it's moons, plus notes on how and where to find Venus, Mars and Saturn this week as well.
Take a tour through Taurus (Part 1) by visiting Aldebaran and the Hyades, then set your sights on Saturn and it's moons as the ringed planet reaches sufficient altitude in the sky by early morning to warrant telescopic viewing. Also covered: Where Venus, Jupiter and Mars can be found in the sky this week.
Mars and the Moon take center stage in this week's video; Mars has increased in size to about 10 arc seconds across recently, and will reach opposition in early March. So now is a good time to start observing the Red Planet to see what details are possible at this less-than-ideal opposition with it. The Moon is our closest celestial neighbor and offers great detail in a small telescope or binoculars, plus it recently acquired interest from two more spacecraft. Find out all about that and more and see what's 'up'!
The all-new "Eyes on the Sky" kicks off by focusing on Capella, Auriga, three stellar Messier objects within it, and the Quadrantid meteor shower. Joining the fun is a cameo appearance by none other than Mr. Charles Messier himself! (Did they have film back then? Nah, but this is what makes astronomy fun!) See what's in the all-new format, as well as what's 'up' in the night sky this week.