When you want to see the stars, find someplace dark
Sky events
This evening, April 8th will offer a beautiful view with Mars and slim crescent Moon located between the Pleiades and the larger Hyades star clusters.
The Moon will be a slim crescent, only 14% illuminated. Mars will be 5° north (to the right) of the Moon, shining at +1.5 magnitude. Above and below will be the bright star clusters.
New Moon will occur today at 22:50HST.
This coming weekend, April 6th, offers an excellent dark night for observing. Get out and enjoy the dark!
Continue reading “New Moon”Over the next week Mars will pass by the Pleiades star cluster. The bright planet and the cluster should make a pretty arrangement in the evening sky.
Tonight the planet is 4° from the cluster. By Saturday, March 30th, the planet will be just over three degrees away. Through the next week the planet and cluster will slowly drift apart again.
The evening of April 8th will offer a beautiful view with Mars and slim crescent Moon located between the Pleiades and the larger Hyades star clusters.
The spring equinox will occur at 19:20HST today.
The equinox is defined as the time at which the Sun passes through the plane of the Earth’s equator. Until the fall equinox occurs on Sep 22nd, the Sun will be located in the northern hemisphere with a positive declination coordinate.
Today the length of the day and night will be very near equal, thus the term equinox. the Sun will rise and set nearly exactly due east and due west.
Today is considered the start of spring for most cultures in the northern hemisphere, or the start of fall for those in the southern hemisphere.
| 2019 Apsides and Seasons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Universal Time | Hawaii Standard Time | ||
| Perihelion | Jan 03 | 05:20UT | Jan 02 | 19:20HST |
| Spring Equinox | Mar 20 | 21:58UT | Mar 20 | 11:58HST |
| Summer Solstice | Jun 21 | 15:54UT | Jun 21 | 05:54HST |
| Aphelion | Jul 04 | 22:11UT | Jul 04 | 12:11HST |
| Fall Equinox | Sep 23 | 07:50UT | Sep 22 | 21:50HST |
| Winter Solstice | Dec 22 | 04:19UT | Dec 21 | 18:19HST |
| Data from US Naval Observatory Data Services | ||||
Full Moon will occur today at 15:43HST.
This evening look for the Moon rising in the east just as the Sun sets in the west. Across the Big Island this can often lead to moonbows as the low elevation moonlight interacts with fog and clouds.
Continue reading “Full Moon”Today Mercury is passing through inferior conjunction, passing between the Sun and the Earth. This fast moving planet will reappear above the dawn in about a week, rising towards maximum elongation on April 11th.
This is the most favorable dawn apparition of the year, actually the best dawn or evening, with the planet reaching over 27° away from the Sun.
| Mercury Events for 2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Apparition | Date | Elongation | Magnitude |
| Evening | Feb 27 | 18.1°E | -0.2 |
| Morning | Apr 11 | 27.7°W | +0.6 |
| Evening | Jun 23 | 25.2°E | +0.7 |
| Morning | Aug 9 | 19.0°W | +0.3 |
| Evening | Oct 20 | 24.6°E | +0.1 |
| Morning | Nov 28 | 20.1°W | -0.3 |
| Data from the Mercury Chaser’s Calculator by John Walker | |||
New Moon will occur today at 16:04HST.
Both March 2nd and 9th offer good observing weekends this month. Get out and enjoy the dark!
Continue reading “New Moon”
Today Mercury is passing through maximum elongation, the furthest it will rise above the setting Sun in the evening sky. After today the planet will slide back into the Sun’s glare headed for inferior conjunction on March 14th
This is a modest apparition, with the planet only 18° from the Sun at maximum. The next evening apparition in June is much better, reaching over 25° from the Sun.
Continue reading “Mercury at Maximum Elongation”Full Moon will occur today at 05:53HST.
This full Moon will be a perigee full Moon, with the Moon appearing a bit larger and brighter. Today lunar perigee occurs within 7 hours of full, producing a full moon that is about 12% larger and 30% brighter than if full occurs while the Moon is at apogee.
Continue reading “Full Moon”
This evening will feature a 6 day old crescent Moon 7° from Mars. Look for a bright orange object a few degrees north (to the right) and a bit below the Moon to spot the planet. Mars should be bright and obvious at about +1 magnitude next to the Moon.
