2018 Week 7: (February 11-February 17)

We are in the middle of February and the weather is still quite cold.  We had a tremendous amount of snow throughout the week and there is nowhere to put my telescope!  The Moon will be starting a new lunar cycle and Mercury will be in superior conjunction with the Sun.  The chart below highlights the events of this week.

Date	Event
February 11	Saturn 2°S of Moon
February 15	New Moon
February 15	Partial Solar Eclipse
February 17	Mercury in superior conjunction

Although Mercury will be in superior conjunction with the Sun on the 17th it will start to appear in the evening sky by the end of February.  Throughout March, Mercury will be very well placed for evening observers in the Northern Hemisphere.  It was at this time last year I could see our smallest planet for several weeks with just my eye.

There will be a partial solar eclipse on the 15th of February.  This is not something to get excited about as it will only be visible in Antarctica and the southern third of South America.  For less than an hour the Moon will barely take a bite out (maximum 8%) of the Sun from Santiago, Chile.

A thin waning crescent Moon will appear very close to Saturn on Sunday morning.  The map below shows the southeastern sky a few minutes after 7am local time.  If you look carefully through binoculars you might see the Moon graze the naked eye star 21 Sgr.  The Moon and Saturn will both be in the same binocular field.  If the weather is good have a look!

Saturn/Moon Conjunction, February 11, 2018

The weather throughout the week is supposed to be close to seasonal.  The weather warms up, then dips, then warms up again.  Hopefully it will be enough to help clear the snow from my observation deck!  There is chance of some more snow but certainly nothing like we had during the previous week.

I would suggest looking for some of the Winter constellations before they are engulfed in the later setting Sun in the Spring.  Orion, Taurus and Gemini are all well worth looking at with the eye and through optical equipment.

I am looking forward to getting through the cold Winter months for some great Spring observing.  I have some new equipment to try out and don't want to freeze.  Also, stay tuned for another McKenzie Lake Star Night where there will be crafts and great observing in the sky!