NIGHT SKY THIS WEEK 22-28 APRIL 2019.

Night Sky This Week, 22-28 April 2019.

Where have all the weeks gone? Seems like we are getting through the weeks and months in record time here in 2019.
There was not much in the way of clear evening skies this week and those nights that showed some clear patches were ruined by a Moon fast approaching full!
So with the last week written off let's turn our attentions to the new week and see what we might expect.

The images are from SkySafari 6 Pro and Cartes Du Ceil, a link to the respective webpages can be found under the "Useful links" tab in the right column of this blog.

MOON AND PLANETS.

The Moon reached it's full phase on Friday 19 April and will continue to dominate our evening skies. It will rise an hour later each night and by the end of the week it's influence and position in the sky will start to lessen it's impact on our observations as it reaches last quarter this coming Saturday, unless of course you enjoy taking the time to examine the myriad of craters and mountain ranges visible on the surface of the Moon at this time.
The Moon will also share several conjunctions with the planets this week, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto will all get close to the Moon starting this Tuesday through Thursday.
 And this week will still see Mercury above the early morning horizons here in the Southern Hemisphere before the sun rises. Along with Venus it puts on a fine planetary display to enjoy with the naked eye, telescope or binoculars. Look toward your early morning eastern skies in the constellations of Pisces and Cetus to see the two.
Saturn is also a early evening planet visible in the constellation Sagittarius with the naked eye, binoculars or the telescope.
Neptune is also a early morning planet that is visible in the telescope in the constellation Aquarius.
Mars is a fast fading early evening planet with Jupiter being the other early evening planet to observe.
Find Mars in the constellation Taurus and Jupiter in Ophiuchus.

DEEP SKY OBSERVING(DSO).

With a full Moon washing out the skies it is time for some Open Cluster hunting. This week we look at two easy to find open clusters in Sagittarius, NGC 6242 and NGC 6231.

NGC 6231, Open Cluster in Scorpius, Magnitude +2.59.

This is a bright open cluster in Sagittarius that also has a some nebulosity associated with it, I do not see this from my light polluted back yard, although the cluster remains bright.
NGC 6231 is a easy star hop from the nearby star Zeta Scorpii.
The cluster is a nice rich collection of stars that are easily detached from the background and make for a fine binocular and telescope view.
NGC 6231 is some 5900 light years away from Earth and is a young cluster at 3.2 million years old.


NGC 6242, Open Cluster in Scorpius, Magnitude +6.40.

A small open cluster that is found only a few degrees from NGC 6231. It is thought to be 3600 light years from Earth .
This cluster was discovered by Nicholas Louis De Lacaille on his visit to South Africa in 1751-1752.
A nice little cluster that is semi detached and is easily recognizable as a cluster among the scattering of surrounding stars.

Image from Cartes Du Ceil

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION(ISS).

This week will see several early evening passes. So be sure to get out there and catch sight of the international space station.
The table below is taken from Spot the station and shows the dates and times for Durban, South Africa. To see a list for your specific city or town please use the "Spot the station" link under the "Useful Links" tab in the right hand column of this blog.

Date	Visible	Max Height	Appears	Disappears	Share Event
Fri Apr 19, 6:13 PM	2 min	12°	10° above NNE	11° above ENE
Fri Apr 19, 7:47 PM	< 1 min	12°	10° above WNW	12° above WNW
Sat Apr 20, 6:56 PM	3 min	84°	11° above NW	77° above SSE
Sun Apr 21, 6:06 PM	6 min	40°	10° above NNW	13° above ESE
Sun Apr 21, 7:44 PM	< 1 min	13°	11° above WSW	13° above WSW
Mon Apr 22, 6:53 PM	2 min	26°	22° above WSW	19° above S
Tue Apr 23, 6:03 PM	4 min	54°	40° above W	10° above SE
Wed Apr 24, 6:49 PM	2 min	11°	10° above SW	10° above SSW
Thu Apr 25, 5:58 PM	3 min	19°	18° above WSW	11° above S

Have fun out there and keep looking up!