![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The planet’s brightest moon, Titan, sits far to the east, some 2.5′ from Saturn’s center. Through a telescope, Saturn’s spectacular rings are visible, about 37″ from end to end. They are low in the west for Midwestern observers. CST (after the planet has set in the Eastern time zone), the Moon and Saturn sit side by side, now nearly 3° apart. It’s a great illustration of the way nearer objects appear to move faster against the background sky than those farther away. In time zones farther west, observers will see the Moon slowly crawl to Saturn’s left. To the pair’s lower left, the bright star Fomalhaut in Piscis Austrinus may also begin to peek out from the twilight. It’s already growing dark on the East Coast, allowing observers there to easily spot the waxing crescent Moon hanging directly beneath the planet in the south. The Moon passes 2° south of magnitude 0.9 Saturn at 5 P.M. And astroimagers may especially want to try for some shots on the 28th, when Tsuchinshan 1 reaches the Leo Trio. Check out the chart above for the locations of these galaxies relative to Tsuchinshan 1 today.Īfter this, the Moon will interfere with observing, though deep photography may carry you through for a few more days. The comet is not far from several great galaxies to observe: NGC 3384, M105, M95, and M96, as well as the Leo Trio of galaxies near the Lion’s hindquarters. To find it, first locate Leo’s brightest star, Regulus, and scan about 8.5° northeast. Tsuchinshan 1 currently sits in the midst of the Lion’s body. The best time to observe Tsuchinshan 1 is in the last few hours of darkness before sunrise, when it is highest in the sky. Rising in Leo an hour or two before local midnight, the comet has recently been recorded at magnitude 9, reachable with any telescope under a reasonably dark sky. Speaking of the Moon, its light will soon start interfering with observations of Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan 1, so tonight is your best chance to get in a good look for a while. At that time, Luna sits 228,603 miles (367,901 kilometers) away. The Moon reaches perigee, the closest point to Earth in its orbit, at 1:53 P.M. This chart only shows galaxies magnitude 10 or brighter Denebola lies just east of the left-hand boundary. Comet Tsuchinshan 1 crosses Leo during December, passing numerous popular deep-sky targets. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. ![]() *Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. Even if you can’t spot NGC 2158, you’ll likely see the brighter, slightly larger NGC 2129. And some 1.6° farther southwest is NGC 2129, a third open cluster that shines at magnitude 6.7. Higher powers might show a smaller, more concentrated clump of stars to M35’s southwest - that’s magnitude 8., another open cluster. This open cluster is roughly 100 million years old and spans about half a degree, making it look best at lower magnifications and with wide-field eyepieces. Once you’ve found Vesta, all you have to do is slide your field of view some 4° north to land on M35, glowing at magnitude 5.3. And it’s also in an easy-to-locate spot, just 12′ northwest of Chi 2 (χ 2) Orionis. Just days from reaching opposition later this week, Vesta is currently an easy binocular object at magnitude 6.5. Credit: Foundry Co (Pixabay)Īsteroid 4 Vesta is skimming just south of several open star clusters near Gemini’s feet this evening. The winter solstice marks the beginning of the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere. ![]()
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