2017 Week 13: (March 26-April 1)

The end of March and the beginning of April have some important annual events.  Neptune will be within 18 arcseconds of the Moon on March 26 and will be occulted by the Moon in several places in Africa.  Mercury will be very close to Uranus on Monday.  The new Lunar Cycle starts the same day.  Aldebaran will once again be very close to the Moon so check it out as the Moon nearly covers the angry red eye of Taurus.

Date	Event
Mar 26	Neptune 0.005°N (18") of Moon
Mar 27	Mercury 2°N of Uranus
Mar 27	New Moon
Apr 1	Aldebaran 0.3°S of Moon
Apr 1	Mercury greatest elongation East (19°)

The most important item on the list is Mercury.  It will be at its greatest elongation East on April 1.  This means it is the furthest point away from the Sun in our sky for its current orbit.  This will be the best time to see the planet with your naked eye in the evening throughout 2017.  After the Sun sets, find a location where you can see the western horizon and look for a bright object in the sky.  That will likely be Mercury.  Star charts will be provided closer to the time.  It will be more than 6x brighter than Mars which is also near the horizon.  If you have a goal to see all the planets this year, do not miss this.  You will be able to see Mercury for perhaps a week before and after April 1 but it will be closer to the bright twilight.

Another sight available next week will be Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak.  It will continue to brighten and should easily be visible in binoculars toward the end of the week.  It will peak in brightness around April 2.  For a guide to viewing the comet please see my previous blog on this topic at:

http://simonjastronomy.blogspot.com/2017/03/comet-alert-41ptuttle-giacobini-kresak.html

Enjoy the last few days of the waning crescent Moon in the mornings before the new lunar cycle begins.

Waning Crescent Moon, March 23, 2017, 07:04

Tonight the weather is supposed to be cloudy.  However, I am hoping the sky clears so I can do some visual astronomy at the observatory.  I am hoping to finish with Cancer the crab and Orion the hunter before they get tucked away for the Summer.  Then it will be off to analyzing Leo with its five Messier objects that I have no experience in finding.  Who knows, maybe I'll even try to find Wolf 359, site of a major interstellar battle between the Federation and the Borg in 2367.  It sits a little southeast of Alpha Leonis (Regulus) at the very edge of my limiting magnitude.

Hope for clear skies throughout April and remember April showers don't bring observing hours!