A challenge for North Americans as twilight turns into night: Distant Uranus, magnitude +5.9, glimmers just below Venus, which is 8,000 times brighter at magnitude –3.9. Use good binoculars or a telescope. At the time of nightfall on the East Coast, Uranus is 0.3° below Venus. By nightfall on the West Coast it’s 0.5° below. Nothing else of that brightness is that close under Venus.
Whats Up in the Nights Sky March 3rd
Bright Jupiter shines above the Moon this evening. Spot fainter Regulus closer to the Moon’s lower left (for North America).
Whats Up in tonight’s Sky Monday March 2nd
Just at Sunset Venus is high in the evening sky in the west.
The bright planet near the waxing gibbous Moon tonight is Jupiter. Jupiter is actually 40 times larger than the Moon in diameter, but it’s 1,660 times farther away (as of tonight).
Another mutual event among Jupiter’s moons. Tonight Ganymede occults Io from 11:06 to 11:11 p.m. EST; their combined light dims by 0.6 magnitude at the center of this time. Later Ganymede casts its shadow onto Io, but just a few minutes beforehand, Io disappears behind Jupiter’s edge from Earth’s viewpoint! (at 12:17 a.m. EST).
Watch and subscribe to the Youtube Astronomy For Everyone channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaU1Vl91MgoYxq0MfTm9KVw
Astronomy for everyone Episode 70
Novi Christian Center FAAC table
The next astronomy event will be Friday March 6th at the Novi Christian Center where the Ford Amateur Astronomy (FAAC) will have a table setup to tell about the club and show some telescopes to the attendees.