We return to standard time at 2 a.m. on Sunday, the 1st, retrieving the hour of sleep we lost in the spring. Unless you want to stay up until 2, you should reset your clocks at bedtime on Saturday.
Jupiter will be passing one of the lesser stars of Capricorn during the first few days of the month, and they will be quite close in the evening of the 3rd. Jupiter will be due south about 6 p.m., and difficult to miss because of its brightness. Binoculars will aid you in seeing the star, and it should not be confused with Jupiter's moons, which will be strung out in a line to the left and right.
In the evening of the 3rd, the Moon will be passing in front of some of the stars of the Pleiades, also called the Seven Sisters, because there are six visible stars. Since the Moon will be just past full, a telescope will be needed to watch the stars disappear behind the Moon's bright edge or reappear from behind its darkened edge.
From our vantage point here in Maine, only Atlas, the leftmost star of the six, will be occulted in this way. The Moon will pass in front of the star about 12:30 a.m. of the 4th, and Atlas will come back out about 1:20.
If you have clear views of the horizon to the east and west, you can spot both Mars and Jupiter about 10:30 p.m. of the 6th. Mars will be less than half the width of your hand (with your arm straight out) up and left of east, while Jupiter will be equally low and left of west.
On the 8th, Mars will be just two finger above and left of the Moon as they rise left of east. We should be able to view them beginning about 10:30. The Moon will be at its last quarter phase the following morning, and we will find Mars to its upper right about 5:30 a.m. Mars will eventually fade into the the twilight, but the Moon will be easily visible in daylight. It will be right of south at sunrise (6:24 a.m.), and well up in the west at 10 a.m.
To help you in identifying Saturn, the Moon will be less than a hand to its right in the morning of the 12th. Look for them in the southeast about 5:30 a.m.
New phase of the Moon will come on the 16th this month, and the evenings from the 9th thru the 19th will be free of moonlight. This means you should get out your trusty binoculars and view the Andromeda Galaxy. At about 7 p.m., it will be nearly due east and two-thirds of the way to the top of the sky. The constellation Perseus will be to the lower left of Andromeda, and a lovely double cluster of stars, creatively called the Double Cluster, sits at its top (binoculars again). About as high as Andromeda and nearer to the north will be the W-shaped constellation of Cassiopeia, and further along will be Cepheus.
These four constellation belong to an ancient story. Cepheus and Cassiopeia are the king and queen of Ethiopia. One day a ferocious sea monster appears, and begins ravaging the coastal towns of their kingdom. A fortune teller advises the king and queen that they must sacrifice their daughter, Andromeda, to end the destruction. So they chain the young woman to a rock on the coast! (They could have used some parenting classes.) Fortunately, Perseus is flying by on his magic shoes, and he slays the monster and takes Andromeda to be his bride.
The annual meteor shower called the Leonids is usually just so-so, but three researchers are separately predicting a burst of activity for a short period of time, like a few hours. You might see a meteor every minute during such a time. The predicted times favor Europe, but they could be off by several hours. So there is a chance to see something exciting the night of the 17th-18th. Normally, meteor watching is best after midnight, but this time you might start around 10, and it will be dark enough by 6 to see meteors.
A pretty crescent Moon should be worth looking for at dusk on the 19th. It will be a hand up in the southwest at 4:45, and more than half a hand above the horizon at 5:15.
The Moon will join up with Jupiter in the evening of the 23rd, making for a lovely scene. We can see them in the south starting about 5 p.m., when the Moon will sit less than two fingers above the very bright planet. They will remain a nifty sight until they set in the southwest about 10.
We have more opportunities to enjoy the stars and planets now, since there is more darkness. And we can watch for Leonid meteors with no worry about the time, because we've got that extra hour.
Copyright Roger Ptak 2009