Idaho Skies for March 2016

Idaho Skies

March 1 – 7

The third quarter moon is nearly equidistant between two planets, Mars and Saturn on the morning of the 1^st. While a pair of binoculars can’t resolve the rings of Saturn, a small telescope of spotting scope can. A telescope will invert the image of Saturn whereas a spotting scope won’t. Either optical device needs a magnification of at least 25 power to see the rings of Saturn and 50 power would be better. 

 A pair of binoculars will show you several small nebulae and star clusters surrounding the moon on the morning of the 3^rd. The reason this region of the sky is so dense with star clusters and nebulae is that it located near the center of the Milky Way galaxy. To see these star clusters and nebulae, scan the area around the moon with a pair of binoculars without actually placing the moon in the field of view. Most of the objects will appear as small fuzzy spots, some sprinkled with a few stars. 

On the morning of the 3^rd and 4^th, use your binoculars to look for earthshine illuminating the dark portion of the moon. It’s best to attempt this while the sky is still dark since the light of dawn washes out the contrast between the sky and earthshine.

 

March 8 – 14

Jupiter reaches opposition on the 8^th. That means it’s located opposite the sun in our sky and therefore at it’s closest to Earth for the year. As a result, Jupiter is slightly brighter and larger than usual. Look for Jupiter to rise in the east by 6:30, or before the sky even gets dark.  

 The moon is new on the 8^th, but we don’t see it again until the evening of the 10^th. That night the very thin crescent moon is 2 degrees from Uranus. Uranus can be seen through a pair of binoculars, but having the moon point it out makes it that much easier. So aim your binoculars at the thin moon, which is located in the low west at 8:00 PM. Then shift your binoculars to place the moon in the left-lower left. The star near the center of the binoculars field of view will be Uranus.

You’ll find the moon between the Hyades and Pleiades star clusters on the night of the 13^th. This month we won’t see the moon cover or occult Aldebaran as we did the previous two months. The trio of nice binocular sky objects will make taking your binoculars outside worthwhile.  

 March 15 – 21

The moon reaches first quarter phase on the 15^th, the same night you’ll find it above Orion the Hunter. Orion is the tall rectangle of stars below the moon. Because of the brightest of its 4 corner stars, Orion is as popular of a pattern of stars as is the Big Dipper. Just like the Big Dipper, what most people recognize as Orion is not the entire constellation.  

The Beehive star cluster is one of the nearest star clusters to Earth and the moon leads you the way to it and a second smaller star cluster on the night of the 18^th. The Beehive is 8 degrees away from the moon on the 18^th, which is close to one and a half binocular fields of view away. So if you aim your binoculars at the moon on the 18^th and then shift them above the moon and slightly right, the Beehive will pop into view shortly after the moon leaves. The other and smaller star cluster is called M-67 and it’s 2 degrees below the moon. To see it, aim your binoculars at the moon again and then shift the binoculars to place the moon at the top of the field of view. M-67 will be near the center of the field of view.  

Yippee! Spring begins on the 19^th at 10:30 PM. Finally, the sun passes directly over the equator in its relentless quest to cross over the Northern Hemisphere. The point at which the sun crosses over the equator is called the Vernal Equinox. Vernal because it’s the start of spring (for the Northern Hemisphere) and equinox because day and night are equal in length. Technically, the day is actually several minutes longer because of atmospheric refraction. The refraction causes the sun’s apparent position to be lifted almost one degree higher as the sun sets.    

Leo the Lion, some claim, fell from the moon. On the 20^th, you’ll find Leo couched above the moon. Specifically, its brightest star and heart, Regulus, is the bright star nearly directly above the moon. And that brighter star to the left of Regulus? It’s not a part of Leo; it’s actually the planet Jupiter.       

The moon moves relentlessly east. Therefore, it’s not surprising to see that on the 21^st it passes Jupiter. The pair creates an attractive sight. The moon is nearly full, so binoculars will only show a few oval craters along the left edge of the moon. What binoculars will show best are the lunar seas or maria. There’s also a crater near the bottom of the moon that stands out like a sore thumb. Seeing it should remind you of the navel of a navel orange. This crater is named Tycho and it’s believed to 109 million years old based on rocks collected by the Apollo astronauts.  

March 22 – 31

The moon is full on the morning of the 23^rd. The full moon in March is called the Crow Moon. It just so happens that the moon is also passing through Earth’s shadow, so we get to see a lunar eclipse. Unfortunately, the moon doesn’t pass through the central core of Earth’s shadow. This results in a partial lunar eclipse where only part of the moon passes through the outer rim of Earth’s, or the penumbra. The best time to see this lunar eclipse is around 6:00 AM on the 23^rd. You’ll find the moon in the low west with its bottom half darkened in shadow.   

There’s a bright star on the moon’s right side late on the evening of the 24^th. The star’s name is Spica and it’s the lucida of Virgo the Maiden. Spica is the easiest part of Spica to identify, the rest of the constellation is rather faint and sparse because of its large size. 

.

Zubenelgenubi, an easy to resolve double star is residing on the moon’s right after midnight on the 27^th. The distance between the moon and Zubenelgenubi is 5 degrees, or about the distance spanned by your fist when your arm is fully extended

Mars is the bright orangish star located below the moon on the morning of the 28^th. The orangish and slightly fainter star further below Mars is Antares. In Greek, Antares means anti-Ares, or the rival of Ares, the Greek name for the Roman god of war, Mars.   

On the morning of the 29^th, you’ll find the moon parked above a creamy white star. The star doesn’t twinkle, so you know it’s a planet. Specifically, it’s Saturn. You can’t see the rings of Saturn or its largest satellite, Titan through binoculars. They’re too close to the planet’s glare to detect. However, a small telescope or even spotting scope capable of magnifying at least 25 times is capable of seeing the rings and Titan.

Binoculars will let you see several of the star clusters and nebulae surrounding the core of the Milky Way galaxy. On the 31^st, the moon gives you a convenient starting point to find these attractive deep sky objects. At about 5:00 AM, scan the region to the right of the moon with binoculars, making sure to scan up and down also. This is the region of the sky surrounding the galaxy’s core and it’s packed with astronomical objects large enough and bright enough to see through binoculars. Some of the objects will appear like fuzzy clouds and others will be sprinkled with stars.