This week the zodiacal light will be visible in the dusk twilight skies. This is sometimes referred to as a vertical twilight as it appears as a vertical column of light emanating from the horizon. This is caused by the Sun's light as it scattered by interplanetary dust along the ecliptic. The ecliptic is steep to the western horizon at this time of year for those at northern latitudes. You can see this phenomenon for yourself if you can find some very dark skies and watch the twilight skies after the Sun sets.
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| Zodiacal Light (Image Credit: Dalton Wilson) |
The large asteroid known as Vesta will be at opposition on Thursday and will shine at magnitude 6.1. It is easily placed in the eastern region of the lion asterism of Leo. It will be just over a degree away from Theta Leonis and they can both fit in an average telescope field of view.
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| Vesta (Thursday, March 4, 2021) |
The Moon will be at its last quarter phase on Friday evening well away from dark skies until it rises around 2am! The nest day Mercury will be at its greatest elongation west and make its best morning apparition for Southern Hemisphere observers. Saturn and Jupiter are still hanging close to the eastern horizon just before sunrise. The ecliptic is quite shallow during morning twilight at this time of year so it may be difficult to see. However, if you catch Jupiter on the morning of Friday March 5 you should be able to see Mercury less than a degree away. Use binoculars and look for the pairing. Just don't use your binoculars too close to sunrise as you do not want to risk harming your eyes.
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