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    Adrian Dening's Stars Over Somerset

    Wednesday, 18 March 2026 23:13

    Monday 23rd to Sunday 29th March 2026

     

    Around 9pm on the evening of Wednesday 25th, the Moon will be visible towards the west south west, with Jupiter quite close to the left of it and the pair will be located above the constellation of Orion with its bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel.  Several more of the brightest stars in the night sky will also be obvious in the same area of the sky.

    The Moon's first quarter phase that evening will be the optimum time to spot the clair-obscur visual effects known as the "Lunar X and V" in your telescope.

    Repeat the experiment at 9pm the following evening, Thursday 26th and the Moon will now appear as a 61%-lit waxing gibbous phase.  It will be located slightly above Jupiter this time.  You won't be able to see the Lunar X and V any more though, because sunlight will no longer be illuminating those features at the correct angle.

    If you can bear to stay up until 2am on the Friday morning, the Moon will be about to disappear below the western horizon.  This is the optimum time to spot another clair-obscur effect known as  the "Eyes of Clavius".  Sunlight illuminates the rims of two small craters, Clavius C and D that are located within the larger main Clavius crater, resembling a pair of eyes staring at you!

    Clavius is located towards the very bottom of the Moon that faces us, below the huge, obvious crater Tyco.  Don't forget though that when you use your telescope, everything is upside-down, so Tyco will appear towards the top of your eyepiece and Clavius will be above that!

    www.starsoversomerset.com

    Screenshots courtesy of Stellarium

    Eyes of Clavius image courtesy of Avani Soares

    Copyright Adrian Dening and Radio Ninesprings 2026

     

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