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Sunday 5th February 2012
All times are GMT
Planet round up
Venus (dusk/early evening)
Jupiter (dusk to late evening)
Mars (late evening to day break)
Saturn (early hours to day break)
Uranus (early evening)
The Moon tonight…waxing gibbous 87% full, rising in the north-east at 2.43 pm, and setting beyond midnight in the north-west at 6.28 am
Venus
Venus the second planet out from the Sun is visible in the early evening in the south-west at dusk. After dark it becomes very bright, gradually sinking towards the western horizon, and setting about 3 hours after the sun. It looks like a very bright star, being much more luminous than even Jupiter further and higher to the south-east. Venus, Earth’s “Evil Twin” is actually the third brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon. This is because of the planets thick, dense atmosphere…its sulphuric acid clouds reflecting sunlight almost like a mirror. This world is roughly the same size and mass as Earth but the planet has undergone a runaway greenhouse effect, making the surface hot enough to melt lead. It orbits backwards so the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east, but it rotates so slowly that the Venusian day is longer than the Venusian year.
Tonight Venus is visible in the south-west, at about 30 degrees to the north-west of the setting Sun. It can be seen in the fading light, and after dark becomes extremely luminous. You’ll have no problems at all finding Venus it if your skies are clear, it’s actually hard to miss. Venus sets at 8.49 pm with a magnitude of -4.00, and an angular size of 15.5″ arc seconds.
Coordinates for Venus RA 23h, 50m / DEC -1, 43′
How long will Venus be visible? Venus is blazing in the evening skies, appearing after sunset in the south-west and will stay with us for some time. Venus will gradually climb higher in the evening sky to make a very bright naked eye object. The second world from the Sun will slowly brighten through January, February, March and April while getting higher in the sky and more easily visible. It will be at furthest at elongation from the Sun on 27th of March, and get to a very bright magnitude -4.4 at the beginning of May, it will then go out of sight by the end of May 2012.
Jupiter
Jupiter is one of the most the most prominent planets in the night sky right now, it looks like a bright star towards the south after dark. It stays on display for a lot of the night, gradually sinking lower to the west where it sets in the early hours. Jupiter is bright in the sky, although opposition was back in late October, so its brightness is has decreased from its peak. Jupiter is currently in constellation Aries, and it blazing high in the sky would catch the eye of anyone not interested in astronomy to wonder just what it is. Jupiter is the solar system’s largest planet showing its four moons and even its cloud belts in good binoculars on a tripod. The gas giant could hold more than 11 Earths across its diameter, it has 2.5 times the mass of all the other planets combined, and the whole thing spins around on its axis in 10 hours making it the fastest rotating planet.
Tonight Jupiter is on the border between constellation Aries, and Pisces already now rising from the east even before it gets dark. It becomes visible after dark in the south, with a magnitude of -2.17 and an angular size of 38.6“arc seconds It gradually moves lower during the evening, before setting in the west at 12.00 am. Jupiter is really easy to spot, it is a bright star like object in the sky that stands out, and like other planets it doesn’t twinkle like a star does. Jupiter rises even before it gets properly dark, give yourself a challenge and try to spot it low in the east in the late afternoon light. Even in binoculars (10×40 or 10×50′s), you should be able to spot Jupiter’s four moons Io, Callisto, Ganymede, and Europa, as pinpoints of light spread out in a line around the planet’s disk.
When searching for Jupiter with your unaided eye in the late evening, don’t confuse it with the bright star Sirius. Both objects are bright, but Sirius is in the south (west of Orion), and Jupiter is in the west (east of Orion). Sirius will flash brightly different colours, but Jupiter has a nice steady light that won’t twinkle.
Coordinates for Jupiter RA 2h, 05m / DEC 11, 36′
How long will Jupiter be visible? Jupiter is very obvious in the sky, now high in the south by night fall. Jupiter’s opposition came on October 28th 2011, so it will still be very bright but very gradually be declining in brightness. Jupiter will be visible until around the beginning of May 2012 where it will disappear into the sun’s light at dusk.
Mars
Mars is on view in the late evening sky, rising in the east just inside the boundary of Virgo having moved from Leo. You’ll notice it as it looks like a red star that doesn’t twinkle, and takes a little more searching with the unaided eye than Jupiter as it’s nowhere near as bright, but you’ll know it when you see it as it is most definitely red in appearance. As the night progresses it rises higher, and moves to the south as day breaks. Mars, the freeze dried desert world is smaller than Earth, but it does things on a big scale. It lays claim to the biggest volcano in the solar system that’s so large it would cover France, and the solar system’s longest and deepest canyon. Mars was shaped by liquid water around 4 billion years ago, and is a site of interest in the search for past or present alien life. Mars continually produces methane, a gas that quickly breaks down in the atmosphere. There are only two ways methane is made, either geological activity or biological, and Mars is thought to be a geologically dead world.
Tonight Mars is in constellation Virgo, rising in the east at 8.12 am . It has a magnitude of -0.68, and an angular size of 12.3″ arc seconds. The red planet is just inside Virgo near to the the tail of Leo , you can pick out Leo as the stars that make up the head of the lion look like a backwards question mark.
Coordinates for Mars RA 11h, 37 / DEC 6, 47′
How long will Mars be visible? Mars is gradually increasing in size and brightness on its way to opposition on 3rd March 2012 when it will be at magnitude -1.23, with an angular size of 13.9. The northern ice cap is now starting to come into view, and will stay visible to opposition.
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Mercury (out of sight)
When will it be back? Mercury has gone into the glare of the rising Sun in the east, but will return as an evening planet,visible just after sunset in the west from the middle of February. It will get to its furthest elongation from the Sun on the 3rd of March, and go back into the Sun’s glare out of sight again by the second half of February.
Saturn
Saturn the ringed gas giant is back on view in the early hours lying in the east in constellation Virgo. You’ll see it 7 degrees west of Virgo’s bright star Spica, and just over 3 times width of your fist held at arm’s length, to the south-west/west of Mars. When seen with your naked eye Saturn looks like a yellowish “star”. Look through a telescope and you’ll see Saturn’s rings, with some atmospheric detail on the planet. The rings are still at a nice angle for viewing. Through a telescope not only the planet will be visible, but some of its moons too. Saturn could get 755 Earths into its volume, and has a storm at its north pole in the shape of a Hexagon with 6 straight sides, each 13,800 kilometres long. The mysterious “Earth like” world Titan is the largest and brightest of Saturn’s moons, followed by the next brightest Rhea, then Tethys, and Dione. Moons Iapetus and Enceladus are the faintest.
Tomorrow morning Saturn is visible rising in the early hours lying in constellation Virgo in the east, rising at 11.54 pm. Saturn has a magnitude of 1.16 and an angular size of 41.3″ arc seconds.
Coordinates for Saturn RA 13h, 53m / DEC -8, 53′
How long will Saturn be visible? Saturn will be visible in the sky now for some considerable time, not going out of sight until the beginning of October 2012 when it will be low to the horizon near the setting Sun. Opposition comes on April 15th 2012 with the rings tilted nicely for viewing.
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The Ice Giants
Uranus and Neptune are more of a challenge to observe than the inner planets like Mars and Venus, so you will usually need a larger telescope, you will not see them naked eye. They will appear as small disks, even in a large amateur scope.
Uranus
Uranus from Hubble
Uranus the coldest world in the solar system is available to view, appearing in the south after dark. Uranus is a small, pale, bluish, featureless disk in telescopes and on low power you’ll not really be able to distinguish it from the surrounding stars. But higher power reveals it as the recognisable disk of a planet with its steady light. It is thought that Uranus has been knocked sideways in space by something very big early in its history, as its north and south poles lie roughly where most other planets have their equators.
Tonight Uranus is in constellation Pisces in the south-west as it gets dark, with a magnitude of 5.90, and an angular size of 3.4″ arc seconds. Uranus then moves lower, setting in the west at 9.17 pm
Coordinates for Uranus RA 0h, 08m / DEC 0, 07‘
How long will Uranus be visible? Uranus will be visible until the beginning of March 2012 when it will disappear into the sun’s glow in the west at dusk.
Neptune (out of sight)
When will it be back? Neptune disappeared into the glare of the setting Sun in the west at the beginning of February. But this ice giant will be back as April begins, as it starts to emerge as a morning planet rising from the east at around 6.00 am. It will gradually rise earlier and earlier, and become a late evening planet by August 2012.
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