NIGHT SKIES THIS WEEK 4-10 MARCH 2019.

NIGHT SKIES THIS WEEK 4-10 MARCH 2019.

This week brings a new moon on the 6^th March and as such it’s DSO hunting time! The last week has been clouded out most evenings, a few presented large open patches through which the stars teased us. Nothing lasted long enough to get the scope out for it.

And that is why a good pair of binoculars are a must have in any amateur astronomers kit.

So let’s see what we should look out for this week in our round up. The images are from SkySafari 6 Pro, a link to the web page is on the right of this blog under the ‘Useful links’ tab.

THE MOON AND PLANETS.

The Moon is at new moon on the 6th and will have little to no presence in our skies.

Jupiter, Venus and Saturn are all early morning planets and are easily observed with the naked eye, look toward your Eastern skies in the early mornings. Jupiter will appear in the constellation Ophiuchus, Venus will be in Capricornus and Saturn in Sagittarius.

Mars is a early evening object and will soon be gone from our views. To find it look in your Western early evening sky and it can be found in the constellation Aries.

I only listed those planets visible from Southern Africa and from Durban. These will still be visible in other parts of the world but the times may vary. From my latitude the ecliptic goes almost over zenith making planetary observations that much nicer.

DEEP SKY OBSERVING(DSO).

With a new Moon I thought we might examine e few Planetary Nebula or PN.

There are many fine PN to seek out and add to your logbook.

Two that I enjoy are NGC 5189 and NGC 3918.

NGC 5189, IC 4274,Planetary Nebula in Musca, Magnitude +9.50.

Last week we visited the GC in Musca and this week we return to take a look at NGC 5189.

If you check the sketching and astrophotography tabs above then you will find some examples of my sketches and images of NGC 5189.

This is a large and strangely shaped PN, it seems to have a small twist to it. In larger scopes it should be a treat. With no Moon about it should be a simple starhop from m Centauri(Mag +4.53). This PN sits close to the +7.19 magnitude star HD 117694. Dark adaption will be beneficial here to help you tease more out of this one in the eyepiece, also use your averted vision to see if you can discern more.

NGC 3918, The Blue Planetary Nebula,Planetary Nebula in Centaurus, Magnitude +8.19.

This PN has a nice blue colour to it in the eyepiece, hence the name the Blue planetary nebula. In my 8” Dob it looks to be a large blue ball. I was also lucky enough to see it in a 12”SCT and it appears much larger with hints at shading and structure.

This is another easy star hop to find NGC 3918. You might find that using Delta Crucis as your starting star to be the easiest. I don’t mind a lengthy star hop, I enjoy the scenic routes!

So that rounds up our look at some PN for this week, I do hope you add these targets to your observing lists and get them logged. I have seen them on many occasions and still enjoy them every time!

THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION(ISS).

This week sees a return to some early evening passes by the International space station over Southern Africa and Durban. The times and dates listed below are from the “Spot the station” NASA web page, The full link is at the right of this blog under the “Useful Links” tab. To find the specific times for your town please follow the link.

Date	Visible	Max Height	Appears	Disappears	Share Event
Tue Mar 5, 8:23 PM	< 1 min	10°	10° above S	10° above S
Thu Mar 7, 8:17 PM	1 min	20°	10° above SSW	20° above SSW
Fri Mar 8, 7:26 PM	3 min	20°	10° above SSW	19° above SE
Sat Mar 9, 6:39 PM	< 1 min	10°	10° above SE	10° above SE
Sat Mar 9, 8:12 PM	1 min	33°	18° above SW	33° above WSW
Sun Mar 10, 7:20 PM	4 min	57°	11° above SW	34° above ENE

So no matter how you enjoy your night skies get out there and keep looking up!