General Session - March 6, 2017

Explore the Moon (Binocular) - March 6, 2017
Conjunction: Mars-Uranus-Venus
Asterisms: Winter Circle, Winter Triangle

Location: Home
Date: 2017-03-06
Time: 5:30 PM - 9:30 PM 
Instrument: Visual + Binoculars (10x30 IS + 15x70)
Magnification: x10 + x15
Transparency: good
Seeing: good
Temperature: -6° C

Clear skies; little if any breeze. This session began with looking for objects in the RASC Explore the Moon (binocular) program. I then went looking for constellations and the conjunction.

Conjunction: Mars-Uranus-Venus
Time: 8:25 PM 
Instrument: Binoculars 10x30 IS + 15x70
Magnification: x10 + x15
Located Venus low on the western horizon in our back yard, then located Mars. Uranus was very faint but found it with averted vision in both pairs of binoculars.

      

 

Winter Circle
Time: 6:45 PM & 8:15 PM 
Instrument: Visual
The Moon (Waxing Gibbous, 57.9%) was in essence in the Centre of the Winter Circle.

At 6:45 PM, Orion couldn't be easily seen because of the brightness of the Moon.

At 8:15 PM, it was very visible. All the stars of the Circle were clearly and easily viewed - Capella, Aldebaran, Rigel, Sirius, Procyon, Pollux, Castor.

NOTE: The night before, I could only see Pollux, Capella, Aldebaran and Sirius due to the thin cloud cover and the First Quarter Moon.

 
   
Winter Triangle
Time: 9:16 PM 
Instrument: Visual
Dave Chapman had emailed the Halifax Centre Discussion List to remind us there was also a Winter Triangle - Procyon, Sirius & Betelgeuse. Tonight this asterism appeared to be an equilateral triangle.
    

 

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