2021 Week 12: (March 21-March 27)

This week in the sky we will have the Moon at its first quarter phase which will showcase some amazing lunar features on the terminator. As the week progresses the Moon will progress to its full phase by Sunday. I have had the opportunity to get outside and see Mars in the northern parts of Taurus and about 7° away from a similar looking Aldebaran, the angry red eye of the bull. Venus will reach superior conjunction, far from the Earth, on March 26 and will progress towards our evening skies in the following months.

It is a good time to get outside and view some of the winter Messier objects before they drop below the horizon at sunset. Orion still rules the southwestern sky but not for long. The Orion nebula is still a very attractive sight in any set of binoculars or a telescope. If you want to catch M79, the globular cluster in the south edge of Lepus you're going to watch to do it soon. The same would apply to objects in Canis Major and Puppis.

Orion Nebula (Image Credit: George Cavanaugh: https://www.imagingstarlight.ca/)

With the winter of 2021 making its hasty retreat the spring constellations are starting to appear. The Beehive Cluster in Cancer was a beautiful sight in my telescope this past weekend. I forgot how bright it was! Just aim your telescope or binoculars to the northwest of Delta Cancri, a magnitude 3.94 star barely visible in urban light pollution. Following the crab is Leo the lion with its bright stars showcased in the southeast sky. I've tried several times to capture the galaxies found within but have had no luck. I will need to get out to a darker site to pull these faint objects in. This brings me to Virgo, the constellation following the lion. Virgo and neighbouring Coma Berenices contain the Virgo Cluster which has 16 Messier members. I have yet to spend time with my telescope in this area but hope to in April.

If you are looking to get involved in a hobby that you can safely do in your backyard during a pandemic please consider astronomy. It is a great pastime that will awaken a sense of wonder each and every night. If you'd like to join a society of amateur and professional astronomers who are waiting to help you check out the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada: https://www.rasc.ca/join

Keep looking up at the night sky!

2021 Week 11: (March 14-March 20)

The weather is warming up and the spring constellations are starting to creep into the late evening sky. I had the opportunity to see Leo crawl in from the southeast toward the south last night. I hope to be able to get outside of the city's light pollution to catch some of the great galaxies the lion sits on.

Leo

This upcoming Saturday, on the 20th, will be the Spring Equinox and the Sun's disk will be, once again, above the northern hemisphere. The days will be longer than the nights so astronomers will have to stay up later each night to enjoy the same dark skies as they had during the winter. On the equinox true night, where the Sun is more than 18° below the horizon will begin at about 9:45pm and last until 5:45am. This is true for Calgary and our friends who hang around the 51° line of latitude.

As the Sun goes down on the evening of March 16 take the opportunity to put it in binoculars. You may see Uranus within the same binocular field just above the crescent lunar neighbour. Three nights later you will see our Moon pair up with Mars within the same binocular field. Poor Mars though has dimmed to magnitude 1.2 and is a measly 5.8 arcseconds in diameter. This pales in comparison to the last opposition in October when it was more than 20 arcseconds in diameter and shined brighter than magnitude -2.5.

This Thursday do not miss this free online presentation on uncovering the origin of highest-energy cosmic rays. Everyone can sign up! Use the link below and we hope to see you there!

Uncovering the Origin of Highest-Energy Cosmic Rays

Also, if you have any youth members who are interested in learning more about astronomy, the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada hosts classes in partnership with the Calgary Public Library. This classes are an hour long and take place every Saturday morning. If you'd like to search out some of the upcoming classes use the link below.

https://calgarylibrary.ca/events-and-programs/programs?query=rasc

2021 Week 10: (March 7-March 13)

This week those who follow Daylight Savings Time will have to set their clocks forward an hour and we all lose an hour of sleep. As for the sky, Neptune will be in conjunction with the Sun and won't be visible in the morning sky until sometime in April. Our furthest planet still sits in Aquarius where it will be until 2023 when it moves into Pisces. Neptune takes 165 years to orbit our Sun and spends, on average, more than ten years in each Zodiac constellation.

Daylight Savings Time Begins

The Moon will reach its new phase very early Saturday morning. This will be a good chance to get out to a dark site to check out the sky without the Moon's brightness polluting the night. The nights are getting warmer as we approach the spring equinox the following week.

I am hoping to crack open my sky maps to create a path of least resistance for the Virgo galaxy cluster. There are many Messier objects found within that I have yet to observe. I am aiming for working on this region throughout April and May.

There is an amazing free online event taking place next week. Dr. David Kieda from the University of Utah will be giving a talk on "Uncovering the Origin of Highest-Energy Cosmic Rays". Dr. Kieda's work is with a ground based gamma-ray observatory and he will be sharing the research that has been done with this instrument. If you would like to sign up for this event please use the following link.

Uncovering the Origin of Highest-Energy Cosmic Rays

If you are interested in getting more involved in astronomy you can join the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada at the link below. You will be joining a society of professional and amateur astronomers who can help you observe the wonders of the night sky above!

https://www.rasc.ca/join

Never forget to keep looking up at the night sky!