February nights
By Stargazer
Look south on a clear winter’s evening and the sky is dominated by the distinctive large constellation of Orion. Most people will be able to identify him, but if not try to start at his ‘belt’ comprising three fairly bright stars in a compact slanting line running up from south east to north west. Above these are his shoulders marked by the bright orange star Betelgeuse to the north east (upper left) and the fainter white star Bellatrix to the upper right. Below the ‘belt’ to the lower right is the bright white star known as Rigel and to the lower left the fainter star Saiph.
All over the northern hemisphere Orion rides high during mid-winter and with his retinue of surrounding other bright stars and constellations makes a walk on a cold clear frosty February/March evening almost compulsory. Around him are Gemini and Auriga to the north and Taurus the Bull to the north west. If you identify this one try to see the V shape of the bull’s head with the bright red star Aldebaran as its eye looking down.
On the evening of Saturday 3rd March there will be a total eclipse of the moon which will be very conveniently placed for observation to the south east assuming the weather will be kind to us. This type of eclipse occurs when the sun, earth and moon line up in a straight line allowing the moon to travel through the earth’s shadow formed by the sun. This event does not occur every month due to the slight incline of the moon’s orbit around the earth in relation to its orbit around the sun.
If the weather is clear go out just after 9:30 pm and you will see the earth’s shadow begin to encroach onto the moon around the lower left area. Between then and about 10:45 the moon will slowly immerse itself until it is fully in the shadow. The total phase lasts from 10:45 to 12:00 midnight after which the process reverses and the eclipse ends at 1:11 am. These events are very interesting to watch at your leisure and provide great proof the earth is circular! Try looking at the totally eclipsed moon through binoculars against the starry background and it appears almost three-dimensional.
The moon does not disappear during the eclipse due to sunlight refracted through the earth’s atmosphere but its brightness and colour varies depending upon the conditions of our atmosphere at the time of the eclipse. It can vary from very dark to beautiful coppery orange/reds so lets hope this is an especially beautiful one and skies are crystal clear. If so a late evening walk will be well rewarded.