~ St. Maarten’s Backyard Astronomy for March 3 & 4 ~
Sun rises at 6:30am
Sun sets at 6:19pm
Moon phase: third quarter, gibbous, waning
Moon sets at 7:35pm, Saturday
Moon rises at 4:43am, Sunday
March 2018 is a great month for catching all five of the visibly bright planets. They are to be found either after sunset, or before dawn. We are talking about any planet that’s easily visible without an optical aid and that’s been watched since ancient times. In their outward order from the sun, the five bright planets are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
What’s cool this month is that the inside or inferior planets – Mercury and Venus, which orbit inside Earth’s orbit around the sun – are located together in the western sky after sunset. Meanwhile, the outside or superior planets – Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, which orbit outside Earth’s orbit around the sun – are best viewed after midnight, or in the predawn hours.
Starting this weekend, there will be only a little more than one degree of separation between Venus and Mercury. That’s about the width of your little finger when held at arm’s length. Venus and Mercury will remain close enough together on the sky’s dome to fit inside a typical binocular field (about 5o) for the first three weeks of March 2018. So if you spot Venus but not Mercury, aim your binoculars at Venus and you’ll see both worlds in the same binocular field.
To see Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, shift your gaze eastward and watch them as they’re ascending into the sky. As Saturday night turns into Sunday morning, look for Jupiter to rise first, at about 11:30pm, followed by Mars around 1:30am and then Saturn about an hour later.
Jupiter is very bright. It’s brighter than any object in the sky except for Venus, so you’ll have no trouble spotting it after it ascends over your eastern horizon. Red Mars and golden Saturn are much fainter, but they should still catch your eye if the skies are clear.
Heineken Regatta sailors that are here this weekend will enjoy seeing a pair of special constellations in our southern skies: The constellations of Vela and Carina. Vela represents the sail of a ship while Carina marks the keel of that same vessel. Carina can be identified by the very bright star Canopus which dominates the lower southern sky much of the night, Vela extends off to the left or East. Canopus can be thought of as the bow wave’s brilliant sparkle as the ship heads upward into the sky. Near the top of Vela is a pulsating star; if the night is clear, you may see it vary in intensity like a heartbeat.
About 20 degrees above Canopus shines the brightest star of all, Sirius. Both of these stars are well known beacons to sailors and dwellers of the tropics and the southern hemisphere, and have been for centuries, each culture giving them different names and meanings throughout history.
Thank you for keeping up with the Night Sky articles. If you are out later on in the week, each star rises about four minutes earlier each day than written here, and the moon rises 50 minutes later. Night Sky is researched and compiled by Lisa Davis-Burnett. Earthsky.org is a key resource for information and images. Questions or comments? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
