NIGHT SKY THIS WEEK 4 - 10 FEBRUARY 2019.

And yet another week has swept passed us! Where are the days going?
Sadly the skies here have not cooperated.
So with that let's take another look at our skies this coming week.

MOON and PLANETS.

The Moon will start to appear in the western skies again from the 4th Feb. Not enough to get in the way of any Deep sky observing but it will all to soon.
By Saturday it will be almost 20% illuminated.
Early evenings see Mars fading into the western skies, Uranus will still be visible in a scope but that too is quickly fading from our views.
Venus, Jupiter and Saturn all return as early morning planets and can be viewed with binoculars and the naked eye.

DEEP SKY OBSERVING (DSO).

With the Moon starting to rise again let's turn our attention to two reasonably easy galaxies while we still can, both are favourites of mine.
Please note, all images courtesy of SkySafari6 Pro. A link to the webpage can be found in the "Useful links" tab at the right of this page.

NGC 5189, Centaurus A, C77, Hamburger galaxy.

With a visual magnitude of 6.64 this is a easy pick up in the scope, a bright core with a dark dust lane running through it. And with a well extended glow.
NGC 5128 is found in the constellation Centaurus, a large Southern constellation.

 

NGC 4594, Sombrero galaxy, Messier 104.

Another fairly easy galaxy to pick up in the scope, from my backyard it is best seen higher up, closer to zenith the better.
Again a small thin smudge of light sporting a slightly brighter core and slight bulge, from darker skies or with larger aperture the dust lane can be seen.
NGC 4594 can be found in the constellation of Virgo. 

 I have imaged both galaxies and you can find the images under my astrophotography tab at the top of this page.By midnight throughout this week both should be at prime viewing time.

Galaxies can be a tough mistress when you live in light polluted skies. But with time and experience you can dig a few out. When I first started out I tried for several and never saw a thing and soon gave up on seeing them. Years later I have been pushed to try again by another deep sky enthusiast. And now with a more experienced "seeing" eye I have observed a few more, so keep trying, you might be pleasantly surprised at the outcome.


This week we will not witness any Space station passes, click on the link in the right column of this blog under the "useful links" tab to see when it next appears over your skies.

Make good use of any clear skies that come your way, whether by naked eye, binoculars,telescope or capturing photons through the camera! Have fun and keep looking up!