| DATE |
Planetarium
Show Time |
Sky
Observing (if clear) |
Celestial
Objects Visible |
| Sat.,
February 4 |
5:00
- 6:00 p.m. |
6:00
- 8:00 p.m. |
Jupiter,
waxing gibbous Moon, Pleiades, Orion Nebula |
| Sat.,
February 18 |
5:00
- 6:00 p.m. |
6:00
- 8:00 p.m. |
Pleiades,
Orion Nebula |
| Sat.,
March 3 |
6:00
- 7:00 p.m. |
7:00
- 9:00 p.m. |
Pleiades,
Orion Nebula, waxing gibbous Moon, Mars |
| Sat.,
March 17 |
7:00
- 8:00 p.m.* |
8:00
- 10:00 p.m.* |
Pleiades,
Orion Nebula, Mars, Mizar & Alcor |
| Sat.,
March 31 |
7:00
- 8:00 p.m.* |
8:00
- 10:00 p.m.* |
Moon
near First Quarter, Mars, Mizar & Alcor |
| Sat.,
April 14 |
7:30
- 8:30 p.m.* |
8:30
- 10:30 p.m.* |
Mars,
Mizar & Alcor, Saturn |
| Sat.,
April 28 |
7:30
- 8:30 p.m.* |
8:30
- 10:30 p.m.* |
Moon
near First Quarter, Mars, Algieba, Saturn |
| Sat.,
May 12 |
8:00
- 9:00 p.m.* |
9:00
- 11:00 p.m.* |
Mizar
& Alcor, Algieba, Saturn |
| DRIVING
DIRECTIONS TO THE WCSU
Observatory and Planetarium: The
facility is located on the WCSU
Westside Campus, which is off Exit 4 (Lake Avenue) of Interstate 84.
After exiting the Interstate, travel about 0.7 mile west on Route 6 to
the main campus entrance, then another 0.7 mile up the main campus
road, University Boulevard. You will pass Centennial Hall (new
dormitory) on your left; continue straight. At the new Campus Center
(on the right), turn left and proceed a short distance to the
observatory road, which will be on your left and facing the Pinney Hall
dormitory. Parking around the WCSU Observatory and Planetarium is very limited (typically, 4 to 6 vehicles), but there is additional parking on nearby University Boulevard. Link to map of WCSU Westside Campus Link to National Weather Service -- Danbury Weather Forecast |
* or
! Interesting to very interesting events
!! EXCEPTIONALLY
interesting events (must-see!)
E Important
geometrical or
calendar events
| Feb. 4 |
! |
FREE
Public Night at the WCSU Planetarium & Observatory (see above for
directions). Planetarium
showabout the night sky runs from 5 to 6 p.m. If skies are clear, this will be
followed by sky
viewing using the 20-inch telescope, from
6 to 8 p.m. |
| 7 |
FULL Snow MOON |
|
| 10 |
* |
The brilliant planet Venus
passes within 0.3 degree of the planet Uranus (a binocular/telescopic
object) this evening; look WSW after sunset. In terms of overall light
received, Venus is 10,000 times brighter than Uranus. If one allows for
differences in the planets' angular diameters as seen through
telescopes, Venus is still the champ; its clouds appear 450 times
brighter than those of distant Uranus. |
| 11 |
The waning gibbous Moon reaches
perigee at 367,922 km [228,616 miles] from Earth's center. |
|
| 14 |
Last Quarter Moon |
|
| 18 |
! |
FREE Public Night at the WCSU Planetarium & Observatory (see above for directions). Planetarium showabout the night sky runs from 5 to 6 p.m. If skies are clear, this will be followed by sky viewing using the 20-inch telescope, from 6 to 8 p.m. |
| 21 |
New Moon |
|
| 25 |
! |
Look W after sunset to see a
close pairing of the crescent Moon and brilliant Venus. |
| 27 |
* |
The waxing crescent Moon is near
Jupiter tonight. It also reaches apogee at 404,862 km [251,569 miles]
from Earth's center. |
| 29 |
First Quarter Moon |
|
| Mar. 3 |
! |
FREE Public Night at the WCSU Planetarium & Observatory (see above for directions). Planetarium showabout the night sky runs from 6 to 7 p.m. If skies are clear, this will be followed by sky viewing using the 20-inch telescope, from 7 to 9 p.m. |
| 3 |
! |
The planet Mars reaches opposition, rising at sunset and
visible all night. Although it will be very conspicuous in Leo, shining
at magnitude -1.2 (almost as bright as the star Sirius), this is not a
good opposition for Mars because it is not particularly close to the
Sun in its elliptical orbit. Mars oppositions that happen to occur in
August or September (as in 2003) are closer ones. For this opposition,
Mars's angular size will be 13.9 seconds of arc, about half what it was
in the close opposition of 2003 but still worth examining in telescopes
for dark markings and the appearance of the NORTHERN polar cap, which
will be shrinking in size as Mars moves from Northern Hemisphere spring
toward summer there. (The sourthern cap was visible in the 2003
opposition.) |
| 5 |
! |
The planet Mars is closest to Earth at 100.8 million km
[62.65 million miles]. |
| 5 |
* |
The planet Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation,
separated from the Sun by 18 degrees in the sky. Look west after
sunset. See the Planetary Information about Mercury, below. |
| 8 |
FULL Worm MOON |
|
| 11 |
E |
At 2 a.m., we switch from
Eastern Standard to Eastern Daylight Time. Set all clocks ahead one hour; that is, "spring"
ahead, and enjoy the (apparently) later sunsets! (If you are an early
riser, it's not as much fun -- the Sun rises around 7 a.m. EDT -- but
don't worry: it'll rise at 6 a.m. by mid-April.) |
| 14 |
Last Quarter Moon |
|
| 17 |
! |
FREE Public Night at the WCSU Planetarium & Observatory (see above for directions). Planetarium showabout the night sky runs from 7 to 8 p.m. If skies are clear, this will be followed by sky viewing using the 20-inch telescope, from 8 to 10 p.m. |
| 20 |
E |
The vernal equinox, the geometrical
start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, occurs at 1:14 a.m. as the
Sun crosses the plane of Earth's equator moving northward. This is the
earliest start of spring in 116 years. |
| 22 |
New Moon |
|
| 30 |
First Quarter Moon |
|
| 31 |
! |
FREE Public Night at the WCSU Planetarium & Observatory (see above for directions). Planetarium showabout the night sky runs from 7 to 8 p.m. If skies are clear, this will be followed by sky viewing using the 20-inch telescope, from 8 to 10 p.m. |
|
MERCURY
|
— |
cannot be easily
seen (because it is too close to the Sun) during late January into much
of
February. Mercury reappears in the WSW sunset sky during the last two
weeks of February; between then and mid-March is the best evening
appearance of Mercury during 2012 for Northern Hemisphere observers. |
|
VENUS
|
— |
is visible in the W evening sky. It passes near Jupiter
on Mar. 15 and reaches greatest eastern elongation (46 degrees from the
Sun) on Mar. 27. |
|
MARS
|
— |
is visible in late evening, in Leo. It
is brightening (magnitude +0.2 at the start of the year, to -1.1 at the
end of February) as it heads toward a March 3 opposition. |
|
JUPITER
|
— |
is in Aries and
well visible in the W evening sky. |
|
SATURN
|
— |
is in Virgo, rising
around midnight in February and mid evening by the end of March. |
STAR WATCH is brought
to you by WCSU Astronomy. Thanks for
connecting! For more information,
please call the Observatory line at
(203) 837
- 8672 or Dr. Dennis Dawson at (203) 837 - 8671.