Sighting the spring constellations

I suppose we should take some time and discuss the spring constellations. They are showing generally due south after darkthirty these warming spring evenings, if you can dodge the thunderstorms.

I am going to start with Cancer, the Crab. Cancer is more often thought of as a winter constellation, but I think with the jewel of M44, The Beehive star cluster it is worth a look.

The Beehive is a great binocular or telescope sight. It is located right in the center of the four stars that make up the constellation which is shaped sort of like the peace symbol, except without the circle.

With a brightness of fourth magnitude, it should be visible as a faint fuzzy patch from a dark sky place looking with just your eyes alone. Binoculars will bring out the stars of the cluster. It is located about 500 light years away and is 1.6 degrees wide or about three times the size of the full moon.

Cancer is located on the ecliptic, the path the sun follows in the sky, so it is often visited by planets and the moon.

Move left from Cancer to our old friend Leo, the Lion. Leo has been the residence of the magnificent ringed planet Saturn for several months now. Leo is marked by the giant backwards question mark which represents his head and mane. The bright point of the question mark is first magnitude star Regulus, the "Little King." Several months ago Saturn was up close and personal with Regulus. It is also on the ecliptic and is also often visited by the moon and planets.

If you have trouble finding Leo, look for one of our other old friends, the Big Dipper. Find the two stars at the back of the dipper shape where the handle attaches, follow a line drawn between them south, or down and you will run across the back of Leo.

The back end of Leo features second magnitude Denebola, the "Tail of the Lion," which is what its name means. Denebola is one of three stars that make up a right triangle forming Leo's hindquarters. Right now Saturn is located about seven degrees, a little more than the width of your fist held at arms length, below the triangle.

If you are feeling adventurous and have access to a pair of binoculars or a small telescope you might try to find a couple of galaxies located between the hindquarters of Leo and Saturn. They are labeled M65 and M66. They are less than a degree apart and will be in the same field of view in your binoculars. They shine at 10th magnitude and are both about 35,000 light years away. Can you imagine what the night sky would look like from a planet in either of those galaxies?

SKY WATCH:

New Moon on Friday, April 24. I hope you had the opportunity to watch the moon occulting, or covering up, Venus yesterday at sunrise. I know, I always say I am not a morning astronomer, but for something like this I do make exceptions. If you didn't see it, there are some other interesting conjunctions at the beginning of next week.

Look in the west on Sunday, April 26 at about 45-minutes after sunset for a marvelous conjunction of a two-day old moon, the first planet out from the sun, Mercury, and a great little star cluster, the Pleiades. This will be a great binocular sight. Keep watching for the rest of the week as Mercury moves closer to the Pleiades with its closest approach on April 30 and May 1.

NEXT TIME:

More astronomical blathering.