What’s up in Space

• The Sun is in Pisces. It sets around 7:30pm and rises around 7:.0am.
• The Moon is Wanning Gibbous. 
• Mars sets two hours after sunset. Jupiter rises just after 11PM, followed by Saturn two hours later. Venus rises at 4:20 AM;
  these three are early riser’s planets as they are visible before sunrise.  
• Milky Way‘s centre is rising with Jupiter by midnight, and the edge of our galaxy, towards the constellation Orion, dominates the evening’s night sky.

The Moon is Waning Gibbous this week, in the sky for the second part of the night. It will cast a lot of light so plan your observing sessions before it rises or just look at bright objects. 

Before moonrise you can see some beautiful objects there, in the night sky, some are circumpolar and some are seasonal.

• Here‘s a quick overview of what you can see with the naked eye. 
• A more in-depth look at the area between the Southern Cross and the Magellanic Clouds here.
• Southern region to Orion is described here.
• Binocular Objects between Southern Cross and the Diamond Cross here.

From Wellington it is always a great time to learn the main asterisms (groupings of stars) that make the main constellations, since you can only see the brightest objects. You can also observe craters on the Moon – here is a comprehensive map of it by Google Moon. 

Milky Way’s centre is now rising before midnight.  Orion is on the western part of the sky in the evening. 47 Tucanae globular cluster is still going strong. You can also look at the Magellanic Clouds with the famous Tarantula Nebula or try and find the Sculptor Galaxy. 

On average, the Moon rises or, if it’s already in the sky, sets about 50 minutes later than the previous day, every day.

New Moon: Friday 05 April 

First Quarter: Saturday 13 April

Full Moon: Friday 19 April 

Last Quarter: Thursday 28 March

Lunar Eclipse: 17 July 2019, 9:32AM 

How to find Sculptor Galaxy NGC 253

Those who are coming to the Stargazing 101 Course in April, clear skies and I look forward to seeing you there. 

We hope to open our telescope for viewings every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday night if the weather is on our side. Alternatively, the planetarium live shows is a great place to see our current night skies.  Make sure to let us know how it went by visiting me on Facebook, twitter or Instagram or by sending me an email haritinam@experiencewellington.org.nz

Clear skies for the week ahead,

Haritina,
@MilkyWayKiwi