| INFORMATION
FOR THE WEEK OF 01 -07 MARCH 2010
Well, this is surely
the month of the planet. Although we start the month with only one
planet in our early evening sky, by the end of the month we'll have FOUR
and you'll be able to see four planets all at the same time.
The one you won't be
able to see is Jupiter and I hope you've found it many times in your early
evening sky in the last five or six months. We've circled around
the Sun from Jupiter and he's no longer visible. Jupiter reached
conjunction on the last day of February. This means that the Earth,
Jupiter and the Sun were lined up with the Sun in the middle. The
king of the planets will reappear in our early morning sky at the end of
the month.
So . . . how are you
going to spot all those planets? Well, start this week with Mars.
Although we're drawing away from Mars in our endless race around the Sun,
he's still quite bright in the early evening sky. Just face east,
opposite where the Sun disappeared, at around 7:30 p.m. any night this
week and measure five fist-widths above the horizon. That bright
red star isn't a star, that's Mars.
To see another one,
just watch one of our beautiful sunsets and as it begins to grow dark you
just might see what looks like an airplane landing at the airport with
its bright runway lights on. But it isn't an airplane, though it's
been mistaken for one lots of times: it's Venus, the third brightest object
in the sky after the Sun and Moon. On Thursday, 4 March, Venus and
Uranus will be in the same binocular field, but I doubt it will be dark
enough to allow you to see Uranus.
Our third planet won't
make its official appearance in the early evening sky until next week,
but if you happen to be out say around 8:30 p.m. and you face east, you
might be able to spot a bright star about a fist-width above the eastern
horizon. It isn't a star, it's March's third evening planet, Saturn.
Saturn reaches opposition later this month and it's about as bright in
our early evening sky as it gets.
In addition to all
this planet news, we've also got spring equinox and 'square days' coming
up later in the month. Oh, and did I mention that there will be yet
another 'blue Moon' for us here on Guam this month? Don't miss it!
Not only do we have
all that sky news, Guam’s spring skies are getting ready to put on a spectacular
show. By next month, you’ll be able to see 8 of the 10 brightest
stars in the early evening sky and six of them are up there now.
And in the light of “Don't miss it”, we are about to lose one of those
bright stars into the glare of sunset. This week is probably your
last chance to see it for the year.
While you're looking
for Venus above the position of the setting Sun, swing your gaze to the
left. You just might be able to see a bright star very close to the
southwestern horizon. That's the ninth brightest star and it is vastly
under appreciated because it's too far south to be seen from the major
astronomy centers.
The star's name is
Achernar and it's the mouth of the constellation Eridanus the River.
The river's headwaters are at the feet of the sky's most famous constellation
and you won't have any trouble finding him because Orion the Hunter will
be almost exactly overhead this week at one hour after sunset. Bright planets,
bright stars, blue moons. It's a rich feast spread for your enjoyment.
Enjoy it tonight!
Would you like to be on the
Planetarium e-mail list and receive a monthly reminder of the Planetarium
shows and occasional notices of cool things in the sky? Just send
an e-mail to stars@guam.net requesting
that you be added and I'll put you on the list!
Don't forget that you
can hear this information on Guam's public radio station KPRG, 89.3 on
your radio dial. The program is called Tropical Skies and
it airs twice on Monday, during the noon hour at 12:25 and at 6:01 in the
evening. Support your public radio station
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