The
Sky this Quarter
Jan / Feb/ Mar 2010
Planets
Venus
Is in superior conjunction with the Sun on the 11th Jan and is not
visible.
The planet will appear in the evening sky in Feb 2010
Mars
(Opposition on Jan 29th)
Is located on boarder between Leo / Cancer, and will move into Cancer,
passing above the beehive cluster (M44) in Feb and April. The diameter
and brightness of Mars will gradually increase to a maximum of 14"
arc and magnitude -1.2 at the end of January. Our distance from Mars
will then increase again, so Jan/Feb is the best time to see Mars
this time. The red planet is due South at Midnight on Jan 29th. Binoculars
will show M44 to the South of Mars.
Jupiter
Is
in conjunction with the Sun in Feb. May be seen low in the West for
a while during the Jan Evenings.
Saturn
Is located in the "Bowl" of Virgo and visible in the East
from about 2am.
Meteor showers
Quadrantids
- Jan 1-6, Peaks on Jan 3rd 18hr
Virginids - March-April. Several gradients
Deep Sky Objects
The arrival of Spring constellations Leo, Coma Berenices and Virgo bring "galaxies". These areas have high densities of Messier Objects. Some well known clusters also exits such as Abell 1656 (Coma Cluster), part of a galactic super cluster of truly cosmic proportions.
In Leo look for bright fuzzy objects M 95/96/106 and M65/66
Comets
Brighter comets and finder charts can be found at :
Up dated Dec 29th 2009
