NIGHT SKY THIS WEEK 11-17 FEBRUARY 2019.

Night sky this week 11-17 February 2019.

And so another week fades into memory and we look toward the next.
Once again clouds were the order of the day for Durban. Friday night saw the skies clear and I was able to get the scope out and checked out two clusters in Vela before the cloud curtain closed on my show again. There was no rapturous applause from the audience as they sat stunned and disappointed yet again!
I guess two is better than none.😊

So, given clear skies what can we expect from this week.

MOON AND PLANETS.

The Moon will become more prominent and only setting around midnight. By  Feb 13th it will have reached first quarter and appears as half illuminated.
This is a great time to use your binoculars or scope and hunt down mountain ranges and craters along the terminator of the now 9 day old Moon, since they now cast long shadows and are easier to pick up.
Also on the night of the 13th Mars and Uranus will have a close approach and conjunction.
The two will pass within 0°58' of each other.
Best seen in binoculars from darker skies.

Venus, having recently passed it greatest elongation West, is still a bright early morning object.
Jupiter now rises shortly after midnight with Saturn following along after 2 AM. Both are bright naked eye objects and Jupiter, it great red spot and moons are always a treat in the eyepiece.

Mars Uranus conjunction

DEEP SKY OBSERVING (DSO).

With an increasingly brightening Moon we need to turn our attentions to the easier to see targets, especially from light polluted urban back yards!

Probably the biggest attraction this week is actually something that is in the solar system and not really a DSO. But comets are always spectacular to see and since this comet has a orbital period of 934 years we will not see it again in this lifetime!

COMET C/2018 Y1(IWAMOTO)

This comet will reach expected peak brightness of  +- 5.5(estimates range from 5.5 to 6.7) on 12th Feb, from Durban it will reach a maximum altitude above horizon of   53° at about 01H48. By then the Moon should have set so you should have a good shot at this one.
Continue to look for it in the days before and after the 12th to see how quickly it moves across the skies.
A more complete posting on the comet is HERE
There are some reports of it becoming a binocular object already, it would be best seen in telescopes and will not be a naked eye comet, sorry!

Now for a actual DSO, 😋


LYNGA 2, Open Cluster in Centaurus, Magnitude +6.40.

This cluster comes from the Lynga Open Cluster Catalog as compiled by Gosta Lynga, Lund Observatory. For more on these catalogs see HERE.
This cluster lies almost midway between Beta Centauri and Alpha2 Centauri, or as they are known by their more common names, Hadar and Rigel Kentaurus.
This is a easy cluster to pick up at 6th magnitude. It's apparent size is approximately 13.0 arcminutes, giving you a corresponding physical diameter of 11 light years.
It's brighter members easily stand out from the background.
Happy hunting!

THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. (ISS)

This week we see several passes that will be visible over South and some parts of Southern Africa.
The chart below is courtesy of Spot the station, a link to the page is in the right column of this blog under "Useful Links".

Date	Visible	Max Height	Appears	Disappears	Share Event
Wed Feb 13, 4:40 AM	2 min	16°	11° above S	16° above SSE
Fri Feb 15, 4:33 AM	6 min	41°	10° above SSW	11° above ENE
Fri Feb 15, 7:33 PM	3 min	22°	11° above N	20° above ENE
Fri Feb 15, 9:10 PM	< 1 min	11°	11° above W	11° above W
Sat Feb 16, 3:42 AM	3 min	21°	10° above SSW	21° above SE
Sat Feb 16, 8:18 PM	5 min	45°	10° above WNW	18° above SSE
Sun Feb 17, 4:27 AM	6 min	55°	15° above SW	10° above NNE
Sun Feb 17, 7:26 PM	6 min	76°	11° above NW	10° above SE
Sun Feb 17, 9:07 PM	< 1 min	10°	10° above SSW	10° above SSW

Image courtesy Nasa.

So get outside with some binoculars or your naked eyes and look up at the station as it passes overhead and spare a thought for the men and women that call it home for a few months each year.
That's a long time to be away from family!
The experiments and experience gained from such spaceflight helps both Earth based technologies and is the forerunner to extended space travel.

Enjoy your clear evening skies if you have them and look up at the wonder and vastness of the Milky Way and universe beyond our little planet, right there above the roof of your home, get out and see it!