Brian Ventrudo

1 March 2017. The Moon returns at the beginning of March in the form of a slender waxing crescent in the western sky after sunset. It’s joined by the fading but still respectably bright planet Mars and the unmistakable silver-white radiance of the planet Venus. Uranus lies 2º west of Mars and reveals itself easily in a pair of binoculars. These three planets are a study in contrasting brightness. Venus shines at magnitude -4.6, Mars at magnitude +1.3, and Uranus at magnitude +5.7. The Moon today has a total magnitude of -9.0. Each full step in magnitude is a factor of 2.512 in brightness [Read more…] about The Sky This Month – March 2017

2 February 2017. Look for the bright white star Spica in the constellation Virgo and the much brighter planet Jupiter in the southeastern sky well before sunrise. The pair lie within about two finger widths of each other for most of the month.

2-3 Feb. The dwarf planet Ceres lies about 1º south of the waxing crescent Moon. Some observers across southern Europe, North Africa, Central America, and northern South America will see the little world pass behind the Moon at roughly 02:00 UT on Feb. 3. Ceres shines at about 9th magnitude, easy to see in binoculars or a telescope, although the glare of the Moon makes it a little harder to spot. Ceres is the largest of the dwarf planets in the asteroid belt. It’s a nearly round world with a diameter of 950km. That makes it the 33rd largest object in the solar system [Read more…] about The Sky This Month – February 2017