The weeks are really going by quickly! The last week of March 2019 is here. Fortune was on my side this last week and I managed a few hours of eyepiece time! The report is under the "Observing reports" tab at the top of this page.
This week sees a few interesting events to keep a eye out for, providing you have the clear skies!
So let's take a look at the new week and what we can expect from the Southern skies over Africa.
Images are from SkySafari 6 Pro, a link to the webpage is available under the "Useful Links" tab on the right of this post.
MOON AND PLANETS.
The Moon is now rising at around midnight and will be at last quarter on Thursday the 28th. Some good news for the DSO observers!
On Wednesday morning at around 04H54 the Moon and Jupiter will pass within 1°52' of each other and share the same right ascension also known as a conjunction. You can see this in your early morning eastern sky as they appear in the constellation Ophiuchus.
The pair will be to wide to fit in a telescope field of view but can be easily seen in binoculars or with the naked eye.
Then in the early hours of Friday morning the Moon and Saturn will pass within 0°03'of each other, making this visible in a telescope, binoculars and naked eye. They will appear in the constellation Sagittarius.
Venus is still a early morning planet and can be found in your early morning eastern skies in the constellation Aquarius.
In the early evening Mars can still be seen in the constellation Taurus before it sets below the Western horizon at about 20H30.
DEEP SKY OBSERVING(DSO).
With a Moon that only rises around midnight this week we have time to pursue those objects that require no Moon.
So let's take a look at two objects in The Lambda Centauri Cluster, and associated Nebula also known as the Running chicken Nebula.
To find this target simply find the star Lambda Centauri in the finder scope.
IC 2948 is the Nebulosity surrounding the star Lambda Centauri and IC 2944 the associated star cluster. The star Lambda Cenatauri is in the same field of view but not part of the cluster, it is thought to be a member of the Goult belt.
From my urban location the nebula remains mostly hidden in the light pollution, on the odd night of good seeing and transparency and the use of filters brings out the faintest wisp alluding to the larger nebula.
The cluster itself is rich and bright! And seeing that in itself is enough, although being able to see the full nebula from my backyard would be nice. This a great target and the cluster is visible in binoculars. Dark skies will be your best friend here and reveal far more of the nebula.
Something else of interest are the "Bok Globules" discovered in the nebula by South African astronomer Andrew David Thackeray. These Bok globules contain enough material to form several stars the mass of the sun.
The images below are intended as a guide only, I encourage you to print out your own finder charts or make use of the SkySafari app to locate them in the night skies.
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION(ISS).
To see the ISS this week you will need to rise early!
Monday through Saturday offer sighting opportunities in the early AM. The table below is from the "Spot the Station" webpage, a link to it is under the "Useful Links" tab to the right of this post, and shows the dates and times for Durban and most Southern Africa. There you can find the specific dates and times for your city or town.
| Date | Visible | Max Height | Appears | Disappears | Share Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon Mar 25, 4:53 AM | 4 min | 30° | 10° above NNW | 27° above ENE |
|
| Tue Mar 26, 4:05 AM | 1 min | 14° | 14° above NE | 13° above ENE |
|
| Tue Mar 26, 5:39 AM | 5 min | 32° | 11° above WNW | 15° above SSE |
|
| Wed Mar 27, 4:50 AM | 4 min | 71° | 45° above WNW | 11° above SE |
|
| Thu Mar 28, 4:02 AM | < 1 min | 22° | 22° above ESE | 15° above ESE |
|
| Thu Mar 28, 5:36 AM | 3 min | 13° | 10° above WSW | 10° above S |
|
| Fri Mar 29, 4:47 AM | 2 min | 22° | 22° above SSW | 11° above SSE |
|
| Sat Mar 30, 3:59 AM | < 1 min | 12° | 12° above SSE | 10° above SSE |
|
So be sure to get out there and look up, have fun and enjoy a night under a canopy of stars!
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