Adrian Dening's Stars Over Somerset

Wednesday, 2 March 2022 17:00

Monday 7th to Sunday 13th March 2022

It's been a while since I reported opportunities to see the International Space Station. There is a good chance on Tuesday 8th, but you will need to be an early riser. The ISS appears in the south west at 5.21am and it will be visible for four minutes before it disappears to the south east.

If you delay your breakfast a little and keep looking towards the south east, Venus and Mars rise above the horizon a little before dawn. They appear quite close together and within a few days they will be the closest they ever appear to be - only 4 degrees apart. Of course they are not really close together - it's just because of the angle you are viewing them from!

Next week provides a chance to see two of the Clair-Obscur Lunar visual effects. On Thursday 10th at 5.30pm, a lesser-known effect called "Nessie" can be seen within the crater Ptolemaeus. The first quarter Moon will be towards the south east, quite high in the sky. Ptolemaeus is located near the centre of the Moon's disc and "Nessie", so named because it is meant to look like the silhouetted head and neck of the famous Loch Ness Monster, will be on the north east part of the crater's floor. A minimum 4 inch telescope with fairly high magnification is recommended for this one.

A couple of days later, on Saturday 10th, it is the turn of the "Jewelled Handle" in the Jura mountain range that is located towards the north west nearside face of the Moon. It will be visible during the evening.

Diagrams to help you find the Clair-Obscur effects are courtesy of Sky at Night Magazine and Wikipedia.

Screenshots courtesy of Stellarium
Copyright Adrian Dening and Radio Ninesprings 2022