2018 Week 6: (February 4-February 10)

Week six of the year and the flu is running through the family.  Hopefully everyone will be better by the end of the week.  The Moon is moving away from being full into its last quarter phase which means there will be some planetary conjunctions.  The table below highlights these events.

Date	Event
February 6	Falcon Heavy Launch
February 7	Last Quarter
February 7	Jupiter 4°S of Moon
February 8	Mars 4°S of Moon
February 9	Vesta 0.9°N of Moon

The weather is anticipated to be very poor until at least the end of the week.  It should clear up and be much better by my birthday!  However, there is something we can watch from any computer.  The Falcon Heavy is scheduled to launch on February 6!  This massive rocket will be the most powerful since the legendary Saturn V that launched people during the Apollo Missions.  It will be twice as powerful as any rocket currently being launched.  My favourite webpage to watch launches is linked below.  The launch window is set between 11:30am - 2:30pm Calgary time.

www.spaceflightnow.com

There are typically several launches per week that you can watch live.  The Falcon Heavy has been delayed since Q3 2015, so excitement is starting to run high.  I will post links on our Facebook Page to remind you to tune into this great event.

Falcon Heavy on Launch Pad

If you would like to watch the static fire check out the video below.

As for the the local sky Jupiter and Mars have moved more than 15° apart and each will be in the same binocular field as the Moon on the 7th and 8th.  The next day the Moon will be very close to the second largest object in the asteroid belt -- Vesta.  This would be a good chance to try to find it in a telescope or binoculars.

It was unfortunate that the weather was cloudy during the total lunar eclipse last week.  We're going to have to wait until the third week of January in 2019 for our next chance from Calgary.  Stay warm and stay tuned for more great astronomy events around Calgary!