Sic Itur Ad Astra – Thus The Way To The Stars : 143 years of astronomy
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March 20th at 19h:03UTC marks the date of the Spring Equinox when the Sun crosses the celestial equator in Pisces heading North. March is also the month when the clocks are traditionally advanced by one hour in Britain to take us into British Summer Time (BST). As far as this page is concerned, you will have to added one hour to any times stated to obtain BST.
THE PLANETS THIS MONTH.
MERCURY.
Mercury is not visible this month.
VENUS.
Venus is starting to increase its altitude as it moves through west towards the north. On the 15th Venus is 5° north of the Moon.
MARS.
Mars shows a distinct phase asit moves away from us. At the start of the month Mars sets at 22:31 and at the end 22:38. On the 18th Mars is 5° north of the Moon.
ASTEROIDS.
Sky chart: Path of Vesta (and Saturn) against the sky in 2002
4 Vesta is in close conjunction with Saturn, passing only 2′ south of the ringed planet on March 18th/19th. Both will be seen in the same eyepiece field, and looking like an extra outer Moon of Saturn.
Asteroid finder from Heavens above – Click HERE
For More information on Asteroids Click Here.
JUPITER.
Jupiter ends its retrograde motion in Gemini and starts to move from west to east again with the 1st quarter Moon passing a 18′ north at 10:40 on the 22nd. If you want to observe this event you will need a clear north-eastern horizon for the Moon will lie at an altitude of only 2°.5 in a Sunlit sky.
Launched in October 1989, the Galileo Jupiter Probe entered orbit around the great planet on December 7th 1995. The Project Galileo Homepage will give you up-to-date information and the very latest images returned.
SATURN.
Saturn lies in Taurus and it too has resumed normal west to east motion against the background stars. On the 5th Saturn lies 1° north of the naked eye star (epsilon) Tauri and on the 20th at 09h is 26′ north of the Moon.
URANUS and NEPTUNE.
Both outer planets are recovering from thier respective solar conjunctions, however unfavourable for observations at this time. It will be a few more months before they are easily seen.
PLUTO.
Pluto can be found in Ophiuchus, below and to the right of 4.0 and 4.7 magnitude stars eta Ophiuchi and zeta Ophiuchi. The best time to look for the planet is when the Moon is not around. With this in mind the dates given below, calculated as either side of the New Moon, maybe used as a guide for planning an observing session.
Best seen between March 6th and March 22nd 2002.
The Positions have been calculated for every ten days at 00h U.T. throughout the period of March/April 2001 when Pluto's elongation angle is greater than 90°.
Positions are for Epoch j2000.
Date R.A. DEC TRANSIT ELG
h m s ° ' " Time °
Mar 12th 17 09 47 -12 56 09 05h:09m 096
Mar 22nd 17 09 52 -12 53 52 05h:24m 104
Apr 1st 17 09 44 -12 51 24 04h:42m 113
METEORS.
No Major showers during March.
COMETS.
Mar 18th – Comet C/2002 C1 (IKeya-Zhang) at Perihelion (0.592 AU).
Mar 22nd – Comet Russell II at Perihelion ( 2.290 AU).
Mar 28th – Comet C/2001 C1 (Linear) at Perihelion (5.105) AU.
Plus these pages will give daily and weekly reports of this and other Comets progress.
Despite poor weather, with cloud cover, and rain showers, a total of 350 members of the general public attended the Liverpool AS weekend Star Party at Croxteth Hall & Park. Continue reading →
On the 27th the Moon is at minimum perigee (closest to the Earth) this year for 2002 at a distance of 356,897km.
THE PLANETS THIS MONTH.
MERCURY.
Mercury is at maximum western elongation on the 21st at an angle from the Sun of 27°. Unfortunately for the northern hemisphere observes it is not a favorable morning apparition with the planet lying at a maximum of 3° altitude at the time of civil twilight. If you fancy a challenge look for Mercury 6° north of the Moon on the 10th at 07:02 UTC.
VENUS.
Venus is just about starting an evening elongation elthough it will be a couple of months before it will become highly prominent in the western sky.
MARS.
Mars sets just after 22:00 throughtout the month and is rapidly moving through Pisces. Using a telescope with a high magnification have a good look at the edges of the planet. One side seems more sharply defined than the other. This is due to the planet moving away from us in its larger orbit and presenting part of its night side towards us. On the 17th Mars is 5° north of the moon at 01:00 UTC.
ASTEROIDS.
1 Ceres is in solar conjunction on February 16th.
3 Juno is at opposition on February 11th.
4 Vesta is very well place, and will be 0.6° south of Moon.
Jupiter has another interesting encounter with the Moon on the 23rd when, at 02:52, the dark limb of the gibbous Moon passes in front of the planet. The occultation lasts until 03:38 when Jupiter reappears from behind the Moon’s bright limb. Using a high magnification through a telescope you will see the planet gradually being hidden from view. Any satellites on view will be similarly occulted although the disappearance and reappearances will be instantaneous.
Launched in October 1989, the Galileo Jupiter Probe entered orbit around the great planet on December 7th 1995. The Project Galileo Homepage will give you up-to-date information and the very latest images returned.
SATURN.
Saturn, lying in Taurus, also has a close lunar encounter although in this case the Moon passes a mere 33′ (just over half a degree) south at 01h on the 21st. This is an excellent chance to try some photography through a driven telescope where both bodies can be seen in the same camera field of view. A four second exposure on 200 ASA film ought to capture Saturn’s disk along with an overexposed lunar section.
URANUS and NEPTUNE.
Uranus and Neptune are both close to Solar conjunction, (Uranus on Feb 13th, Neptune is only now recovering from its conjunction with the Sun last month.). It will be May when both planets begin to improve and become observable.
PLUTO.
Pluto will be out of view until after April in morning skies.
METEORS.
February 6th – 9th Alpha Aurigids ZHR is 10-12 per hour. ( Favourable) New Moon on 12th.
COMETS.
February 3rd: Comet d’Arrest at Perihelion (1.353 AU).
February 7th: Comet Finlay at Perihelion (1.034AU).
February 13th: Comet C/1999 F1 (Catalina) at Perihelion (5.787AU).
February 25th: Comet Spitaler at Perihelion (2.127AU).
Plus these pages will give daily and weekly reports of this and other Comets progress.
The Earth is at perihelion on the 2nd at a distance of 0.983289 Astronomical Units (1 Astronomical Unit is equivalent to 149.6 million Kilometres). Perihelion is the closest any body approaches the Sun. Its opposite is aphelion, when a body is furthest from the Sun in its orbit.
Mercury reaches inferior conjunction on the 27th but before then it is available for viewing in the evening sky between the 1st and the 26th, although it is more favourable between the 6th and 21st. There are no other planets around to guide you to Mercury but the Moon helps out a little by appearing at the scene on the 15th and 16th. On the 15th Mercury can be found just to the right of the crescent Moon. This table will also help you locate Mercury.
VENUS.
Venus is at superior conjunction on the 14th and is therefore not visible at this time.
MARS.
Mars sets at 22:22 at the end of the month and is therefore a purely evening object. During January Mars moves westward from Aquarius into Pisces. On the 18th the Moon is 6° South of Mars at 03:00
ASTEROIDS.
4 Vesta is still well placed in Taurus ay Mag 7.1 on the 1st Jan.
9 Metis is at opposition on the 13th Jan in Gemini near Castor & Pollux at mag 8.6.
Jupiter is at opposition on the 1st and is visible all night which is fortunate for us as at approx 18:00UTC on the 26th a grazing occultation of Jupiter by the Moon is predicted. The diagram below shows this well whereby the Moon’s South pole just misses completely occulting the planet whilst lying in Gemini. Occultations used on this web site are calculated for the latitude and longitude of Liverpool, so if you live a great distance from this point you may see an actual occultation or no occultation at all. Grazes are interesting events as a high magnification view may show a planet or star “winking” on and off as it passes behind the Moon’s sharp contours. Planetary occultations are relatively rare, and grazing ones even rarer. Start observing before the time of the occultation to catch the approach.
Launched in October 1989, the Galileo Jupiter Probe entered orbit around the great planet on December 7th 1995. The Project Galileo Homepage will give you up-to-date information and the very latest images returned.
SATURN.
Saturn was at opposition late last year and is visible high up in the constellation of Taurus to the right of Jupiter. On the 14th Saturn passes 49′ north of epsilon Tauri whilst on the 24th the Moon passes a mere 56′ North of Saturn.
URANUS and NEPTUNE.
Both Uranus and Neptune are unfavourable with the latter at solar conjunction on the 28th when it lies directly behind the Sun as seen from the Earth. Both are unfavourable for observations until June.
PLUTO.
Pluto will be out of view until after April in morning skies.
METEORS.
January 3rd/4th Quadrantids ZHR is 80 per hour. (Unfavourable)
COMETS.
January 4th – Comet C/2001 T4 (NEAT) at Perihelion (8.555AU).
January 8th – Comet Machholz at Perihelion (0.124AU).
January 18th – Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann II at Perihelion (3.409AU).
January 22nd – Comet C/2000 WM1 at Perihelion (0.555AU).
January 28th – Comet Spacewatch at Perihelion (1.529AU).
Plus these pages will give daily and weekly reports of this and other Comets progress.
Apart from the grazing event of Jupiter, detailed above, there are no really bright stars to be occulted in January apart from v (nu) Virginis which reappears from behind the Moon’s dark limb at 22:24 UTC on the 31st.
On the 21st at 19:23 UTC the Sun reaches its winter solstice when the Sun halts its apparent motion in declination. At midday it is at its lowest altitude for the year and consequently it is the shortest day of the year.
PHASES OF THE MOON DURING DECEMBER 2001
NEW MOON
on 14th
at 20h:48m
FIRST QUARTER
on 22nd
at 20h:57m
FULL MOON
on 30th
at 10h:42m
LAST QUARTER
on 7th
at 19h:53m
There is a lunar eclipse on the 30th, but please try not to get too excited, because even before the Moon enters the partial phase, it will set as seen from Liverpool.
THE PLANETS THIS MONTH.
MERCURY.
Mercury is at superior conjunction on the 4th.
VENUS.
Venus lies close to the south eastern horizon as it swiftly heads towards next years solar conjunction.
MARS.
After Sunset Mars can be found just west of south tracking from Capricornus into Aquarius passing 51′ north of the star iota Aquarii on the 7th. On the 21st at 01hr Mars is 4.5° north of the Moon.
Marswatch – latest observations of the red planet.
ASTEROIDS.
4 Vesta is well placed in Taurus at mag 6.5. (link removed as URL is invalid)
40 Harmonia is on the Gemini/Orion border at is at opposition on the 19th at mag 10.
Jupiter is a fine evening object shining at mag -2.6 Crisp winter nights observing this giant gaseous world will stick in one’s memory for many years and is often the sigh observers recall as their view through a telescope after the obvious Moon. As with Saturn, Jupiter is still in retrograde motion, and lies high up straddling the meridian at around midnight. On the 3rd the Moon is 48″ north of Jupiter at 11hrs, and later in the month they come even closer with the Moon passing only 18″ north of Jupiter at 13hrs:42m on the 30th.
Launched in October 1989, the Galileo Jupiter Probe entered orbit around the great planet on December 7th 1995. The Project Galileo Homepage will give you up-to-date information and the very latest images returned.
SATURN.
O.K. then, Saturn is probably the most memorable sight through a telescope (people can argue for their particular preference!). Smaller than Jupiter at 20″ across and fainter at mag +0.5 it nevertheless offers a nice counterpoint for its brighter planetary neighbour Jupiter. Saturn is at opposition on the 3rd, and on the 1st, with the Moon just 6 hours past full phase, once again occults Saturn but at the more inhospitable time of 02:19 UTC, and reappearance is at 03:30 UTC. On the 23rd Saturn lies 3.5° north of the bright star Aldebaran – alpha Tauri and on the 28th at 09hrs the Moon lies 40″ South of Saturn.
URANUS and NEPTUNE.
This month Uranus and Neptune must really be considered unfavorable now. They are faint and will tend to be lost in the evening twilight arc as they head towards next year’s respective solar conjunctions.
PLUTO.
Very poorly placed for observations during this period.
METEORS.
12th Geminids 100 Per Hour Favouable (Moon near new)
The accepted maximum of this shower is December 12th. However, some sources suggest the 14th shows an equally strong peak
It could be that the peak has drifted as the particle streams orbit changes or it may be that this shower has a temporary
double peak as the Earth encounters a stream of material which it does not normally cross. More observations of this particular
shower is needed on the 12th, 13th and 14th to ascertain its true nature.
22nd - 24th Ursids 10 Per Hour Quite favourable
Click Here. GEMINIDS Click Here.URSIDS
Mercury finishes off its excellent morning apparition which started in mid-October. This table shows the planet’s apparition and also details where the Moon lies when near by.
VENUS.
Even once prominent Venus seems to sense winter is almost here and seeks the warmth of the Sun as it hugs the south eastern horizon before Sunrise.
MARS.
At the end of the month Mars transits at 17:20 (diameter 7.4″ (20.5″ in June). Its fast apparent motion carries it through Capricornus lying a mere 13′ South of iota Capricorni on the 22nd. On the 21st at 22h the almost 1st quarter Moon lies 3° south of Mars.
Marswatch – latest observations of the red planet.
ASTEROIDS.
4 Vesta is at Mag 6.5 in Taurus, at opposition on 28th November. Lying below and to the right of Saturn in Taurus Vesta is technically visible to the unaided eye but binoculars are needed as it is just on the threshold of visibility. No disk will be apparent no matter what magnification you can use. The only giveaway as to what is and what isn’t a star will be the asteroid’s nightly movement against the background stars.
11 Parthenope is at Mag 10 in Taurus, at opposition on 21st November.
Jupiter is now moving in retrograde motion, rise well before midnight and as its apparent diameter are increasing quickly it is really worth a look though almost any kind of telescope using as much magnification as the instrument will usefully allow. On the 6th Jupiter is 1° south of the Moon.
Launched in October 1989, the Galileo Jupiter Probe entered orbit around the great planet on December 7th 1995. The Project Galileo Homepage will give you up-to-date information and the very latest images returned.
SATURN.
Lunar Occultation of Saturn – November 3rd
Saturn, as with Jupiter, is in retrograde motion, however on the 3rd at 21:08UTC the gibbous Moon actually passes in front of Saturn. Occultations of planets are relatively rare events. In September Jupiter was covered by the Moon’s disk albeit in the hours of daylight but this month and again in December Saturn undergoes the same fate but in a more favourable dark sky. The reappearance, which takes place at 22:02, will be a little more observable as the event occurs on the Moon’s dark limb. The disappearance maybe a bit awkward as the brightness of the Moon will dazzle. There are two similar Saturn occultations in April and May 2002. It takes approximately 40 seconds for the planet to disappear or reappear so whilst the disappearance will be behind the Moon’s very bright limb it will be most disconcerting to see Saturn reappearing from the seemingly empty blackness of the Moon’s dark limb (link removed as URL is invalid).
URANUS and NEPTUNE.
Both are now less than 90° away from the Sun, and must be considered as unfavourable for observations at this time.
PLUTO.
Pluto is in close conjunction with the Sun and will be out of view for several months.
LEONIDS 10 per Hour ZHR max on the 18th (Favourable). This shower normally produces a peak of 10-15 meteors per hour at maximum but in recent years, as the Earth has met the stream of particles left by its parent comet, a dramatic increase in rate has been reported – in the region of many hundreds per hour. The next couple of years will see a continuation of these high rates and it is a shower worth watching, especially this year will see a continuation of these high rates and it is a shower worth watching, especially this year as the Moon is out of the way. The peak is a sharp one through and because it occurs on the other side of the world we in the Uk will not see much of an inrease in activity.
COMETS.
November 18th: Comet c/2000 WN1 (Linear) will reach Mag 6.4 for Uk Observers.Perihelion not until Jan 2002.
All times are in BRITISH SUMMER TIME (BST) But Please note that at the end of the month the clocks are put back one hour to take us into GMT. Therefore subtract one hour from the times stated here to obtain GMT.
For Observer in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, U.K.
Latitude 53 degs 24 mins North.
Longitude +3.0 degs West.
Mercury makes its last and best appearance in 2001 this month. Lying just over 10° in the east-south-east 45 minutes before Sunrise at the end of the month. The close proximity of Venus ought to make this elusive planet easily spotted with the naked eye. Unfortunately the Moon only comes close at the end of the apparition and therefore isn’t of much help. Use this table to give you an idea where along the horizon to look.
VENUS.
Venus’ descent towards the horizon is quite obvious and, as mentioned above, can be used to find Mercury in the morning sky at the end of the month. You cannot fail to miss Venus in the South-east before dawn. In late October Mercury comes amazingly close, lying only 39 arcminutes South of Venus between 28th and 30th. Next month the two planets drift apart but Mercury’s brightness increases a few notches. If you want to photograph the scene make a series of exposures on 200ASA film (slide or print) ranging from 5 seconds to 30 seconds at 5 second increments with the lens set at f4. Somewhere in between these will be your own very nice photo of this great event!.
MARS.
Mars swiftly moves from Sagittarius into Capricornus passing 42′ south of the globular star cluster M75 on the 26th. On the 23rd at 02hrs Mars and the Moon are 1° apart.
Marswatch – latest observations of the red planet.
ASTEROIDS.
39 Laetita is at Opposition mag 9.5 on Oct 13th in Cetus.
4 Vesta is now becoming brighter as it nears opposition next month. It can be found inTaurus at mag 7.5
Jupiter now rises before midnight and slows its eastward motion against the stars as it prepares to go into retrograde motion. On the 9th at 23hrs Jupiter is 42′ south of the Moon.
Launched in October 1989, the Galileo Jupiter Probe entered orbit around the great planet on December 7th 1995. The Project Galileo Homepage will give you up-to-date information and the very latest images returned.
SATURN.
Saturn too has halted its eastward motion and has already started to move westwards in Taurus. On the 7th at 18hrs Saturn is 31′ north of the Moon. As the moon’s diameter is just about 30′ this is almost an occultation. Owners of telescopes may like to catch the two bodies as one drifts past the other. As the Moon’s orbit intersects that of Saturn closer to the planet each month an actual occultation is inevitable and this is what happens next month and again December.
URANUS and NEPTUNE.
Both are still with us, Their brightness has faded slightly but as they are faint anyway this will make little difference to their visibility. Both lie in the constellation of Capricornus.This will be you last chance to see them until May 2002
Planet Postions During October 2001
Uranus Oct 1st R.A. 22h:35m:37s DEC -15°:07':11" Mag 5.7
Neptune Oct 1st R.A. 21h:33m:42s DEC -18°:37':45" Mag 7.9
PLUTO.
Tiny distant pluto is now very poorly placed for observations from Liverpool. Please note even at opposition Pluto reachers 13.7 Mag.
METEORS.
13th Piscids 5 per Hour Favourable (24 day old Moon)
21st/22nd Orionids 20 Per Hour Favourable ( 4 day old Moon)
COMETS.
Oct 28th: Comet C/1999 U4 (Catalina-Skiff) at Perihelion ( 4.915AU).
Oct : Comet at Perihelion ( AU).
Plus these pages will give daily and weekly reports of this and other Comets progress.
