2018 Week 5: (January 28-February 3)

We are completing the first month of 2018 and there will be an amazing event in the sky.  There will be a total lunar eclipse visible throughout most of North America and Asia.  The chart below highlights the activities in the sky for next week.

Date	Event
January 31	Ceres at Opposition
January 31	Total Lunar Eclipse
January 31	Full Moon
February 1	Regulus 1°S of Moon
February 2	Zodiacal Light visible in evening twilight for next two weeks

The dwarf planet (same classification as Pluto) Ceres will be at opposition on Wednesday.  Asteroid hunters may wish to see if they can find it through binoculars or a telescope.  It will be in the same binocular field as Kappa Leonis but about 9 times dimmer.

If you are going to hunt for this dwarf planet check out the map below for just after midnight, the morning of January 31, 2018.  A binocular field of view below is circled.  In the southern sky use the two stars at the head of Leo to point you toward Ceres.  Under good weather conditions, this should be fairly easy to find in binoculars.

Ceres Opposition Map

Before we discuss the main event next week I just want to cover a few other minor things.  On February 1, Regulus (Alpha Leonis) will be 1°S of the Moon and will look great in a telescope.  Last Friday we caught Gamma Tauri in the same telescopic field and it looked as though the Moon would eat the star!

The zodiacal light may be visible to observers in dark sites throughout the next two weeks.  Look for a dim cone of light in the direction of the sunset after most of the twilight has cleared.  For more information, click on the zodiacal light link at the beginning of this paragraph.

Zodiacal Light

The event many people have been looking forward to is the total lunar eclipse.  We have not had one visible from Calgary since 2015, so this is exciting.  The weather is looking absolutely atrocious so we are going to need a bit of luck to have clear skies or a sucker hole in the clouds.  As discussed in a previous blog, linked below:

http://simonjastronomy.blogspot.com/2018/01/total-lunar-eclipse.html

it will be a 'Super Blue Blood Moon' and will appear as a dark red colour. 

Total Lunar Eclipse (Image Credit: NASA)

Get out your zoom lenses or hook up a camera to your telescope.  If you don't have equipment, just enjoy it with your naked eye.  The progress times are listed below.  You'll be most interested in the partial and total phases as the penumbral eclipse is difficult to delineate from a regular Moon.  Between 4:48am and 8:11am on the morning of Wednesday, January 31 you should have a good view.

3:51am - Penumbral Eclipse Starts
4:48am - Partial Eclipse Starts
5:51am - Total Eclipse Starts
7:07am - Total Eclipse Ends
8:11am - Partial Eclipse Ends
8:18am - Moon sets

The map of the entire eclipse is provided below.

Map of Lunar Eclipse, January 31, 2018 (Image Credit: Timeanddate.com)

As I mentioned above, the weather is looking quite poor next week.  There will be on and off flurries and cold temperatures.  Dress warmly if you are going to enjoy the sky this week!