2017 Week 11: (March 12-18)

This upcoming week has a few sights to see in the sky.  The weather is supposed to finally be fantastic and there should be plenty of opportunities to see some great things.  The Moon will be full on March 12 but it will likely still be cloudy at that time.  The zodiacal light will be strong again for the last two weeks of March.  A link to my blog post on zodiacal light from February 4 is provided below:

Zodiacal Light

Jupiter is making its presence known in the evening sky.  Look toward the east after 10pm and you will see a very bright object rising up from the horizon.  On Tuesday you can see the largest planet sitting just South of the Moon.  Jupiter will be approaching opposition on April 7 and will continue to grow larger and brighter.  If you love Saturn you're still going to have to wait until 3am for it to rise low in the southeastern sky.

Date	Event
Mar 12	Full Moon
Mar 14	Zodiacal Light visible for 2 weeks in western sky
Mar 14	Jupiter 2°S of Moon
Mar 18	Moon at Apogee

When the Moon is full you should turn your binoculars on it.  The ejecta lines from meteor impacts are typically at their best contrast during a Full Moon.  In the image below you can see the amazing impact lines emanating from the crater Tycho located at the top left.

Full Moon, September 2016

The last thing to keep an eye on is Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak which will continue to grow brighter throughout the week and month.  It will be cruising through the southern portion of Ursa Major this week heading toward the Big Dipper.

Good luck with the sky this week and enjoy the weather!