Skynotes February 2012

Month Highlights

The planets are looking great this month. Once again, there's the choice of Venus and Jupiter in the evening sky or Mars and Saturn during the early morning.

Planetarium Exhibition

Winning sky photographs: the David Malin Awards 2011

View spectacular images of the night sky! This stunning display features the winners and selected entries from the annual photography competition inspired by the world-renowned astronomy photographer and competition judge, Dr David Malin. Exhibition developed by the Central West Astronomical Society and toured by the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney.

Planetarium Events

Fulldome Fridays - throughout February

Come along to the Planetarium for something a bit different - each Friday evening we will be screening the most innovative and artistic films designed specifically for the domed screen. There will be two sessions each evening at 7.30pm and 9pm.

See the Fulldome Fridays What's On listing for more details.

Discover the Night Sky – coming this March

The Melbourne Planetarium at Scienceworks presents its special after-dark sessions, Thursday evenings from 1 to 29 March at 7.30pm. All evenings include a glass of wine and cheese, the opportunity to chat to the Planetarium’s Astronomer, a planetarium experience and stargazing through telescopes (weather permitting).

Each evening will showcase a different aspect of the night sky. For more information, pricing or bookings call the Scienceworks Booking Office on 9392 4819 between 9am and 4.30pm, Monday to Friday.

Sunrise & Sunset Times

Moon Phases

The Moon will be at apogee (furthest from Earth) on Tuesday 28th at a distance of 404,862 km.

The Moon will be at perigee (closest to Earth) on Sunday 12th, at a distance of 367,919 km.

Let the Moon be Your Guide

The Moon can be used as a pointer to find other objects in the sky:

• On the night of the 1st, the waxing gibbous Moon is near the lovely star cluster Pleiades.
• During the night of the 7th, the Moon is near the twin stars of Gemini – Castor and Pollux.
• At sunset on the 8th, the Full Moon rises just before the bright star Regulus (Leo).
• During the early hours of the 10th, the waning gibbous Moon can be found near Mars.
• Then on the morning of the 13th, the Moon is above Spica (Virgo) with Saturn just below and to the right.
• Before sunrise on the 16th, the waning crescent Moon is near the red supergiant star Antares (Scorpius).
• After sunset on the 26th, the waxing crescent Moon is to the right of Venus.
• The following night on the 27th, the Moon sits below Jupiter.
• During evening twilight on the 29th, the Moon is back with Pleiades.

Planets

Mercury moves too close to the Sun to be seen this month.

Venus can be found heading towards the north-west. Even though it is drifting towards the horizon, Venus is so bright that it is easily seen during the evening twilight. On the night of the 26th, the lovely crescent Moon sits to the right of Venus, with Jupiter just above.

Mars is slowly moving into the evening sky, rising in the east around 10pm. On the night of the 10th it travels across the sky with the Moon. By morning Mars is easily seen in the north-west sky, shining with its reddish glow.

Jupiter has been shining brilliantly in the northern sky, but it’s now heading westward. It almost catches up with Venus by the end of the month. On the night of the 27th the crescent Moon is just below Jupiter.

Saturn continues to sit near the bright star Spica (Virgo) and the two will stay together for the rest of the year. Saturn rises an hour or so after Mars and follows the red planet across the sky. By morning, Saturn is high in the north, with Spica above and to the left. On the morning of the 13th, the Moon can be seen above Spica.

Meteors

The alpha-centaurids and beta-centaurids are active from the 2nd through until the 25th. Unfortunately the showers generally peak on the 8th, which coincides with the Full Moon. The two showers have distinct characteristics, bu in practice it is difficult to distinguish between them. These showers are perfect for us as they occur near the bright Two Pointers that lead the way to the Southern Cross. Although the showers are not generally strong, they often produce many bright meteors including some fireball types and some leave fine persistent trails. On good occasions rates of 25 meteors per hour have been recorded although lower rates of around 6 meteors per hour have been more usual in the last decade.

Stars & Constellations

Orion, the hunter, can be seen high in the northern sky this month. This constellation appears upside down in the Southern Hemisphere and is best recognised as the Saucepan, with Orion's belt making up the base of the saucepan and Orion's sword as the handle. Above the saucepan is the blue-white supergiant star Rigel, one of Orion’s legs, and below it is the red supergiant Betelgeuse, marking Orion’s shoulder.

The Southern Cross and the Pointers are low in the south-east which means that the Magellanic Clouds, our two nearest galaxies, are high in the sky. Away from city lights, the Magellanic Clouds can be seen as two fuzzy patches, hence their name.

International Space Station

The ISS orbits the Earth every 90 minutes at an average distance of 400 km. The ISS appears as a bright star that steadily moves across the sky. It can often be seen from Melbourne, for example at:

6:27am – 6:33am, Saturday 18th February.

The Station will appear in the north-west, just near Mars, and travel overhead before disappearing in the south-east.

Predictions of where and when to see the ISS can be obtained from the Heavens Above website.

On This Day

2nd 1931, the first mail delivery by rocket is made in Austria.

3rd 1966, Luna 9 (USSR) made the first softlanding on the Moon, and transmitted the first images from the Moon.

3rd 1966, the USA launches its first operational weather satellite, ESSA-1.

5th 1974, Mariner 10 (USA) returns the first close-up images of Mercury.

6th 1971, the first golf ball was hit on the Moon, Apollo 14 (USA).

7th 1984, Bruce McCandless, from Challenger (USA) made the first untethered space walk.

11th 1970, Japan became the fourth nation in space with the launch of Osumi-5.

14th 1963, Syncom 1 (USA), the first geosynchronous satellite, was launched.

15th 1564, Galileo Galilei was born.

18th 1930, Clyde Tombaugh (USA) discovered Pluto.

19th 1986, MIR (USSR), the first permanent space station, was launched.

20th 1962, Friendship 7 carries the first American astronaut into Earth orbit.

23rd 1987, SN1987A, the closest and brightest supernova since 1054 was discovered.

24th 1968, Jocelyn Bell (UK) discovers the first pulsar.

27th 1942, JS Hey (UK) discovers radio emissions coming from the Sun.