February 14 – February 21
Let’s pay attention to the minority this week. By this I mean the Minor constellations: Ursa, Canis and Leo, all of which are now visible in the evening. Ursa Minor, the Little Bear, hosts the Little Dipper asterism and it has what is arguably the most important and famous star of the night sky–Polaris, the North Star–at the tip of its tail. Although smaller and less bright than the nearby Great Bear, Ursa Minor is at the centre of action in our night sky. How many have heard or even believe that Polaris is the brightest star in the night sky? It actually ranks at number 48.
Canis Minor, the Little Dog, is noted for having the eighth brightest star, Procyon. An imaginary arrowhead formed by Orion’s head and shoulder stars points eastward to the Little Dog. We usually see it as just two stars so it is probably a wiener dog. Despite the brilliance of its luminary, the Little Dog is just the opening act for Canis Major and its leading star, Sirius, the brightest one of the night sky. In early winter Procyon rises first to announce the impending arrival of Sirius, hence the name which means “before the dog.”
Leo Minor the Little Lion experiences difficulty in being noticed, and with good reason. It is one of those inconspicuous constellations created by the 17th century astronomer Johannes Hevelius to fill gaps in the sky. We see it as a triangle between the back of Leo and the feet of Ursa Major. To give it some distinction and pride we can imagine the lion cub nipping at the heels of the Great Bear to keep it from attacking Leo.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:23 and sunset will occur at 5:43, giving 10 hours, 20 minutes of daylight (7:26 and 5:50 in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:12 and set at 5:54, giving 10 hours, 42 minutes of daylight (7:15 and 6:00 in Saint John).
The Moon is new on Tuesday, and the razor-thin lunar crescent sits just below Mercury on Wednesday. The Moon is near Saturn on Thursday with Mercury two binocular fields to their lower right and Venus below it setting around 6:45 pm. Jupiter shines brightly high in the east in early evening, and on Tuesday telescope users can see its moon Europa disappear behind the planet at 7:19 while the Red Spot is in mid-transit. Rural observers might catch the zodiacal light angling up the ecliptic 60 to 90 minutes after sunset early in the week.
Tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on the YouTube channel and Facebook page of Astronomy by the Bay.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at [email protected].
February 7 – February 14
Binoculars are great instruments for observing the brighter star clusters and nebulae in the night sky, and Orion is a great place for binocular treasures. Its most prominent naked eye feature is the angled line of three stars that make Orion’s Belt. This trio, part of a star cluster called Collinder 70, will fit easily within almost any binocular view. They are hot giant stars with the one on the right, Mintaka, being a little dimmer than Alnitak on the left and Alnilam in between. Although they appear to be near each other, at a distance of 2000 light years Alnilam is nearly three times farther than the other two. Between Alnilam and Mintaka binoculars will show an S-shaped asterism, Orion’s S, which peaks above his belt.
Below the belt is a string of a few dimmer stars that makes Orion’s sword, one of which looks fuzzy to the eye. Binoculars reveal this to be the Orion Nebula or M42, a vast cloud of gas and dust where stars are forming. Just above the nebula is an asterism that resembles a person running or perhaps the figure in a WALK sign. Several double or multiple stars can be seen in this general area. Binoculars will also enhance star colours so check out Orion’s two brightest stars, blue-white Rigel and orange Betelgeuse. Defocusing your binoculars slightly will enhance the colours even more.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:33 and sunset will occur at 5:33, giving 10 hours of daylight (7:36 and 5:40 in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:23 and set at 5:43, giving 10 hours, 20 minutes of daylight (7:26 and 5:50 in Saint John).
The Moon is at third quarter on Monday and near Antares Wednesday morning. Mercury and Venus have joined Saturn in the west in evening twilight. The increasing angle of the ecliptic makes this the best evening apparition of the year for Mercury, although it will be dimming rapidly toward the end of the month. Midweek Venus sets 40 minutes after sunset and Mercury will be about a binocular width to its upper left. Jupiter will be high overhead around 10 pm, and on Wednesday telescope users can see its moon Ganymede emerge from transit at 6:12 while its shadow begins a leisurely three hour transit. Rural observers might catch the zodiacal light angling up the ecliptic 60 to 90 minutes after sunset.
The Saint John Astronomy Club meets in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre this Saturday at 7 pm. Tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on the YouTube channel and Facebook page of Astronomy by the Bay. The Fredericton Astronomy Club meets in the UNB Forestry-Earth Sciences building on Tuesday at 7 pm.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at [email protected].