January through June, 2018

The WCSU Planetarium and Observatory are open twice per month (usually Saturdays), starting in March, during the WCSU spring semester. The facility is located on the WCSU Westside Campus, atop the hill between the Campus Center and the Pinney Hall dormitory. The entrance road faces the front of Pinney Hall. Be careful of its steep entrance apron; enter and depart the apron at an angle to it to avoid bottoming out. Parking is available but very limited around the facility; more may be found on University Boulevard.

Public Nights may be cancelled due to severe weather and/or dangerous road conditions. For updates, call 203- 837-8672 on the day of an event. Sky viewing cannot be held in cloudy or precipitating weather, but planetarium shows are usually held.

Planetarium shows are appropriate for adults and older children, but generally not for infants or toddlers.

NIGHTLY SKY CALENDAR

*,!, !! – interesting to very
interesting celestial event

E – calendar or geometry – related event
(such as an equinox)

Day	Date	Note	Description
Tues	Jan. 16		New Moon
Wed	17	*	The slim waxing crescent Moon passes near brilliant Venus, which is making a return to the evening sky after some months as a predawn object. Look low in the SW during evening twilight.
Wed	24		First Quarter Moon
Tues	30		The Moon reaches perigee at 358,994 km (223,068 miles) from Earth’s center.
Wed	31	*, predawn	FULL Old MOON. New Englanders will see very little of its eclipse, but this is the only eclipse of the Moon visible at all here during 2018. Look NW before sunrise. The Moon will enter Earth’s outer, penumbral shadow around 5:50 a.m., and its inner, darker umbral shadow around 6:48 a.m., but the Sun rises around 7:06 a.m. and the Moon will set at 7:09, so there is little time to see Earth’s umbral “bite” on the Moon. Totality will not be visible from New England; mid-totality is not until 8:30 a.m., well after moonset. (Quoted moonset and sunrise times are for Danbury.)
Wed	Feb. 7	*	Last Quarter Moon. The Moon also passes near the bright planet Jupiter. Look ESE in the hours after midnight.
Fri	9	*	The waning crescent Moon passes near Mars. Look SE before dawn.
Sun	11	*	The Moon reaches apogee at 405,700 km (252,090 miles) from Earth’s center. It also passes near Saturn. Look SE in the predawn hours.
Thurs	15		New Moon
Fri	16	*	The slim waxing crescent Moon passes near Venus. Look WSW in evening twilight.
Sun	18	!	The waxing crescent Moon passes near Mercury and Venus. Look SW in evening twilight.
Fri	23		First Quarter Moon
Tues	27		The Moon reaches perigee at 363,933 km (226,137 miles) from Earth’s center.
Thurs	Mar. 1		FULL Worm MOON
Tues/ Wed	6/7	*	The Moon passes within 5 degrees of Jupiter. Look ESE in late evening on the 6th.
Fri	9		Last Quarter Moon
Saturday	March 10	!	Free Public Night at the WCSU Planetarium and Observatory. Planetarium show: 6 to 7 p.m. Using the 20-inch telescope (if skies are clear) for sky viewing: 7 to 9 p.m. Things that may be observed include late winter objects such as the Orion Nebula and star clusters in Auriga.
Sun	11	E	Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) resumes at 2 a.m. Set your clocks ahead one hour!
Sun	11	*	The Moon reaches apogee at 404,678 km (251,455 miles) from Earth’s center. It also passes near Saturn. Look SE after midnight.
Thurs	15	*	The planet Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation at 18.4 degrees from the Sun. This is the best “evening planet” showing for Mercury in 2018: roughly between March 5 and 18. Look W after sunset for Mercury, with much brighter Venus toward its left. If viewed in a telescope, Mercury will look like a tiny first quarter Moon; but Venus will appear as a gibbous planet; it does not reach its GEE until mid-August.
Sat	17		New Moon
Sun	18	*	The crescent Moon passes near Venus. Look WSW in evening twilight.
Tues	20	E	The vernal equinox (start of Northern Hemisphere spring) occurs at 12:15 p.m. EDT.
Sat	24		First Quarter Moon
Saturday	March 24	!	Free Public Night at the WCSU Planetarium and Observatory. Planetarium show: 7 to 8 p.m. Using the 20-inch telescope (if skies are clear) for sky viewing: 8 to 10 p.m. Objects that may be observed include the First Quarter Moon and early spring celestial objects like the Beehive star cluster and the double star Gamma Leonis.
Mon	26		The Moon reaches perigee at 369,106 km (229,351 miles) from Earth’s center.
Sat	31		FULL Sap MOON
Sun/Tues	Apr. 1-3	*	Look SE in the hours after midnight to see a close pairing of Saturn and Mars. Mars is brighter (magnitude zero), and its orange color is unmistakable. By late July, when Mars reaches opposition, it will outshine Jupiter.
Tues	3	*	The Moon passes near Jupiter. Look ESE in late evening.
Fri/Sat	6/7	*	The Moon passes near Saturn and Mars. Look SE after midnight.
Saturday	April 7	!	Free Public Night at the WCSU Planetarium and Observatory. Planetarium show: 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Using the 20-inch telescope (if skies are clear) for sky viewing: 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. Objects that may be observed include Gamma Leonis, Mizar and Alcor, and galaxies in Leo and Virgo.
Sun	8		Last Quarter Moon; also, the Moon reaches apogee at 404,144 km (251,123 miles) from Earth’s center.
Sun	15		New Moon
Tues	17	*	The crescent Moon passes near Venus. Look W after sunset.
Fri	20		Moon reaches perigee at 368,714 km (229,108 miles) from Earth’s center.
Saturday	April 21	!	Free Public Night at the WCSU Planetarium and Observatory. Planetarium show: 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Using the 20-inch telescope (if skies are clear) for sky viewing: 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. Objects that may be observed include the Moon near First Quarter, and Mizar and Alcor.
Sun	22		First Quarter Moon
Sun	29		FULL Pink MOON
Mon	30	*	The Moon passes near Jupiter. Look ESE in middle evening.
Fri	May 4	*	The Moon passes near Saturn. Look SE in late evening.
Saturday	May 5	!	Free Public Night at the WCSU Planetarium and Observatory. Planetarium show: 8 to 9 p.m. Using the 20-inch telescope (if skies are clear) for sky viewing: 9 to 11 p.m. Objects that may be observed include Mizar and Alcor, globular star cluster M13, and Jupiter.
Sat	5		Moon reaches apogee at 404,457 km (251,317 miles) from Earth’s center.
Sun	6	*	The Moon passes near Mars. Look SE after midnight.
Mon	7		Last Quarter Moon
Tues	8	!	Jupiter reaches opposition to the Sun, rising at sunset and visible all night. Look SE after sunset, S around midnight and SW thereafter.
Tues	15		New Moon
Thurs	17	*	The Moon passes near Venus. Look W in evening twilight.
Mon	21		First Quarter Moon
Monday	May 21	!	Free Public Night at the WCSU Planetarium and Observatory. Observing only (weather permitting): using the 20-inch telescope (if skies are clear) for Moon and Jupiter viewing: 8 to 10 p.m.
Sun	27	*	The Moon passes near Jupiter. Look ESE in early evening.
Tues	29		FULL Flower MOON
Thurs	31	!	The Moon passes within 2 degrees of Saturn. Look SE in middle to late evening.
Sat	June 2		Moon reaches apogee at 405,317 km (251852 miles) from Earth’s center.
Sun	3	*	The Moon passes near Mars (magnitude -1.7). Look SE in late evening.
Wed	6		Last Quarter Moon
Wed	13		New Moon
Thurs	14		Moon reaches perigee at 359,503 km (223,384 miles) from Earth’s center.
Sat	16	*	The Moon passes near Venus. Look WNW during evening twilight to early evening.
Wed	20		First Quarter Moon
Thurs	21	E	The summer solstice (Sun farthest north) occurs at 6:07 a.m. EDT.
Sat	23	*	The Moon passes near Jupiter. Look ESE in early evening.
Wed	27	!	Saturn reaches opposition to the Sun, rising at sunset and visible all night. It also passes within 2 degrees of the Moon. Look SE, evenings. Saturn’s rings are wide open.
Thurs	28		FULL Strawberry MOON
Sat	30	*	The Moon passes near Mars. Look SE in middle evening.

PLANET INFORMATION

MERCURY – is in the western twilight sky during early March, best visible between the 5th and 18th. It reaches greatest eastern elongation on March 15, 18.4 degrees from the Sun. Thereafter, it closes with the Sun again, only to reappear in the eastern predawn sky at the end of April.

VENUS – emerges from the Sun’s glare during February, becoming visible in the SW sky after sunset and gradually getting brighter and higher during the spring months. During the first few weeks of March, the much dimmer planet Mercury can be glimpsed to its right.

MARS – has a favorable opposition year, the best since 2003. It starts the year in Libra, rising about 2:30 a.m. (EST) as a moderately bright object, then moves into Scorpius and Sagittarius. Mars brightens to magnitude 0 in early April, rising around 2 a.m. (EDT). By the end of May, the planet will be brighter still and rising just after midnight (EDT). At Mars’s opposition on July 27, it will reach magnitude – 2.8, outshining Jupiter.

JUPITER – is in Libra for most of the year, visible in the SE predawn sky during January. It will rise earlier each month, appearing before midnight by early April. The giant planet reaches opposition on May 8, rising at sunset and visible all night.

SATURN – is in Sagittarius, starting the year as a predawn object. It rises earlier each month, but even by the start of April when Saturn passes close to Mars, it still doesn’t appear until 2 a.m. Gradually moving into the evening sky, Saturn reaches opposition on June 27. Saturn is a glorious sight in telescopes, and this year its rings are wide open.

Star Watch is a service provided by the Earth and Planetary Sciences program at Western Connecticut State University. Thanks for connecting!

Bot Breaker

January through June, 2018