Sky this Week
Some things to check out in the sky this week, March 2 to March 8, 2008
The following is a summary of some things to see in the sky this week, March 2 to March 8, 2008.
International Space Station
The ISS makes some bright passes in the early mornings this week. On Sunday morning Mar 2 at 6:07 am MST it will appears in the WSW and disappear in the NE at 6:13 am On Monday morning Mar 3 at 4:57 am it will appears in the South and disappear in the ENE at 5:01 am On Tues morning Mar 4 at 5:20 am it will appears in the West and disappear in the NE at 5:24 am On Wed Mar 5 at 5:42 am it will appear in the WNW and disappear in the NNE at 5:46 am On Thur Mar 6 at 4:33 am it appears in the NNE and disappears in the NNE at 4:34 am On Fri Mar 7 at 4:54 am it appears in the NNW and disappears in NNW at 4:47 am Check http://www.heavens-above.com for more information.
Sun
Sunday the sun rose at 6:33 am and set at 5:56 pm. Next Saturday it will rise at 6:24 am and set at 6:02 pm. No active regions are visible today on the Sun’s disk.
Moon
The Moon is new Fri. Mar 7 at 10:14 am.
Planets
Saturn is visible in the eastern sky in the early evening in the constellation Leo. The disk is 20 arc sec across and +0.6 magnitude in brightness. Mars is high overhead in the southwest in early evening. It moves into the constellation Gemini this week. It is +0.3 magnitude in brightness and 8.6 arc sec across. Jupiter is visible in the early morning low in the southeast in the constellation Sagittarius. It is -1.9 magnitude in brightness and 35 arc sec across. Venus and Mercury are visible about 45 minutes before sunrise in the ESE. Both are in constellation Capricornus. The Moon occults the planet Venus around 1:25 pm MST on Wednesday.. See http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/planets08/0305venus.htm for other locations and times.
Comets
Comet 17P/Holmes is still visible though you’ll probably need a dark sky location to see. It is still in constellation Perseus, magnitude +4.8 Comet 46P/Wirtanen is in constellation Taurus and +9.5 magnitude Comet C/2006 q1 McNaught is in constellation Vela and +9.9 magnitude Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann in in constellation Auriga and magnitude +11.5 Comet C/2008 C1 Chen-Gao is in constellation Perseus and is magnitude +12
Dark Sky Objects
This weekend is the first of two Messier Marathon weekends for those who are persistent enough to locate 109/110 of them in one evening. Such a variety! A few Fall objects, Winter, Spring and early Summer celestial delights all in one night. Way too many to list even the best ones here.