![]() Use it to get a nicer look at the Great Square of Pegasus, balancing on its corner high in the east above Jupiter.Īway from the Great Square's left corner runs the main line of Andromeda, three 2nd-magnitude stars about as bright as those of the Square and spaced similarly far apart. ■ This evening, skywatchers at mid-northern latitudes finally have about 40 minutes of darkness between the end of twilight and moonrise. ■ Jupiter's Great Red Spot should transit the planet's central meridian around 11:56 p.m. The main stars of Vega's own constellation, Lyra - faint at 3rd and 4th magnitude - extend to Vega's left by half as far as the distance from Vega to Eltanin. Binoculars will help through the moonlight Draco's head is about the width of a typical binocular's field of view.ĭraco always eyes Vega as they wheel around the sky. The rest of Draco's fainter, lozenge-shaped head is a little farther behind. To Vega's right or lower right by 14° (nearly a fist and a half at arm's length), look for Eltanin, the nose of Draco the Dragon. ■ Vega is the brightest star very high toward the west these evenings. The Little Dipper's two brightest stars (2nd magnitude) are Polaris, the end of its handle due north, and Kochab, the lip of its bowl about a fist and a half to the left. ![]() ■ This is the time of year when, after nightfall, W-shaped Cassiopeia stands on end halfway up the northeastern sky - and when, off to its left in the north, the dim Little Dipper extends leftward from Polaris. Our Red Spot transit-time predictions - see the Celestial Calendar section of Sky & Telescope - are based on fairly recent observations, but don't be surprised if the Spot has taken it into its head to move several minutes off schedule. A change often becomes detectable to visual transit timers over a span of some months. But not quite like clockwork! It drifts east or west in Jupiter's atmosphere somewhat irregularly. Jupiter rotates fast the Red Spot transits about every 9 hours 56 minutes. A light green or blue filter at the eyepiece helps a bit. The Red Spot should be visible almost as easily for about an hour before and after in a good 4-inch telescope if the atmospheric seeing is sharp and steady. ■ Jupiter's Great Red Spot should transit Jupiter's central meridian (the line down the middle of its disk from pole to pole) around 10:18 p.m. ■ Algol should be at minimum light around 8:00 p.m. For starters tonight: Have you ever seen Mare Orientale? ![]() ■ Think a full Moon means it's no time to observe the Moon? Use your imagination a bit, with the help of Bob King's Full Moon Fringe Benefits. Look high over the Moon for the Great Square of Pegasus through the moonlight. Look for Jupiter almost two fists to its upper right, as shown above. Even when outer planets move eastward with respect to the stars, that motion is slower. That's because the Moon (rapidly orbiting Earth) always moves eastward with respect to the opposition point in Earth's sky, while outer planets always move westward with respect to the opposition point. When the Moon shines close to it on the 8th, the Moon is a little before its own opposition date (it comes to full on Sunday evening the 9th).Īnd why do the Moon and Jupiter shine together when they're on opposite sides of their respective oppositions: before it and after it? They start in the east-southeast, as shown below. ■ The Moon and Jupiter cross the sky together tonight. Mercury is now an easy catch low in early dawn. On Saturday morning look for it low due east about 60 to 40 minutes before your local sunrise, as shown below. ■ Mercury is beginning its best week of 2022 as a dawn object. Algol takes several additional hours to fade and to rebrighten. This evening Algol should be at its minimum brightness, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.3, for a couple hours centered on 11:12 p.m. ■ Perseus is up in the northeast after dark now, including the eclipsing variable star Algol, Beta Persei. The Moon and Saturn form an isosceles triangle with Fomalhaut, which sparkles far below their midpoint. ![]() Look much farther upper right of the Moon, by about four fists at arm's length, for Saturn. ■ This evening, bright white Jupiter shines left of the bright white Moon.
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