John Mallinson Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Quick, go outside, it's a pretty sight - look towards where the sun set. Guardian guide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annamk Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Thanks for the reminder John - it is indeed pretty ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Macmillan Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 It certainly is! Would have been a good night for Astro in my earlier years - though two very similar azimuths as here would give postion lines that are too alike for fixing purposes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjuli_Bai Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Hope I remember to look tonight - right now its 2:23 in the afternoon...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I'd been wondering what those very noticeable "stars" in the night sky for the last few weeks had been - at one stage, they were sitting in a very nice alignment with the "toe" of the new moon. Now I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Although not as close together, they were still incredibly bright in the clear sky last night. A stunning display of the heavens even in my light-polluted area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I keep looking at them and being reminded of the Flanders and Swann song "My Horoscope" : "Jupiter's gone into Orion, and come into conjunction with Mars Saturn is wheeling across infinite space to its pre-ordained place in the stars And I gaze at the planets in wonder At the trouble and time they spend All to warn me to be careful In dealings involving a friend." Flanders and Swann, At the Drop of Another Hat (I think) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul N Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Just had another look. Always amazed at Venus - unmistakable. I could also see Jupiter's moons through a birdwatching telescope. Had a leisurely scan at other jewels in the current night sky. Starting from Venus and Jupiter, and moving westwards, through south and over to the east, we have: First, the bright winter constellations - Orion, with its two bright stars Rigel and Betelgeuse, its belt, and the nebula just below the belt (can see it with binoculars). The belt points up to Aldebaran in Taurus - carry on a bit further and the Pleiades star cluster is also visible to the naked eye (impressive through binoculars). Orion's belt points down to Sirius, the brightest star, in Canis Major - also unmistakeable, very bright, and being low, it twinkles a lot (unlike the planets). Completing the winter group are Procyon in Canis Minor, Castor and Pollux (the twins) in Gemini, and Capella in Auriga. Then, moving east, the sky is duller. The main feature at the moment is Mars, which appears as the brightest object in the constellation Leo - bright, orangy-red, and it doesn't twinkle. Finally, above the eastern horizon, another bright star, twinkling like mad, all colours, orange, green, blue: Arcturus, lying at the end of the arc of the handle of the Great Bear (or the Big Dipper - always looks like a big saucepan to me, and at the moment it's standing on its handle). Sighting Arcturus in the east is as much a confirmation of Spring as sighting the first swallow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 It was glorious last night, marvellous visibility, although I couldn't work out where Orion had disappeared off to. The Big Dipper was very noticeable. Venus and Jupiter seem to be moving apart pretty quickly now, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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