Monday 6th to Sunday 12th March 2023
On Tuesday 7th we have a Full Moon rising above the eastern horizon just as it gets dark. This is the worst possible time to go looking for deep space targets as the sunlight reflecting off the lunar surface creates the ultimate light pollution and ruins the contrast of fainter objects.
Later in the month, we have the opposite, with a New Moon creating zero light pollution. This occurs at the same time as the optimum date for this year's Messier Marathon over the weekend of 18th / 19th when it is possible to see all the 110 objects that astronomer Charles Messier originally catalogued back in the 1700s.
But for now, going back to the Full Moon on 7th, you will find that looking at such a bright object in your telescope can be almost painful and it could damage your eyes. Most astronomers use a special filter, known as a Neutral Density Filter, in front of the eyepiece. It works a bit like a pair of sunglasses and reduces the amount of moonlight reaching your eye.
If at the same time, around 7pm, you look towards the west then Jupiter and Venus can be seen just before they set below the horizon. Jupiter will be the lower of the two bright pinpoints of light.
Using a telescope will reveal the Galilean moons of Jupiter - the same view Galileo saw when he realised that the Earth was not in the centre of the universe! Viewing Venus through your telescope can show phases, just like our Moon and currently, Venus will appear to be about 85%-lit like a Gibbous Moon. Coincidentally, Galileo was also the first person to observe the phases of Venus!
Screenshots courtesy of Stellarium
Copyright Adrian Dening and Radio Ninesprings 2023
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