Sunday Stargaze (2/12/12)
Location: School
Time: 7-9 P.M.
3 Planes and 2 satellites.
A clear, cold night tends to yield plenty of stars for observation, but the telescopes proved to be the most troublesome aspect in last night’s group stargaze. Different parts of the sky showed three different “seasons” simultaneously: winter in the east, fall in the west, and spring in the north. The south was mainly composed of Eridanus and Fornax with a two specks of bright light, Jupiter and Venus. The constellations in the east were more entertaining. Using Orion’s Betelgeuse, Canis Major’s Sirius, and Canis Minor’s Procyon we drew a “winter triangle” as a frame of reference. From that point we could find Monoceros, Gemini (Castor and Pollux), Lynx, Lepus, and Columba. In the north the Big Dipper was partly visible, and Cancer the Crab could be found a little to the northeast. The west had the Great Square of Pegasus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, and Andromeda. Directly overhead was Taurus, Perseus, and Aries. Through the telescope we could see Aldebaren sitting in the V-shaped Hyades and the Pleiades with the binoculars. Additionally, Venus was waxing gibbous, Jupiter was in Aries, and in M42 there were four stars visible that formed the Trapezium.
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